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Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide

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ddd999

ddd999

King of Mars
Hubble Telescope Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life.

"The carbon dioxide is the main reason for the excitement because, under the right circumstances, it could have a connection to biological activity as it does on Earth," Swain said. "The very fact we are able to detect it and estimate its abundance is significant for the long-term effort of characterizing planets to find out what they are made of and if they could be a possible host for life."

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/dec/HQ_08323_HST_Carbon.html
 
ddd999 said:
Hubble Telescope Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet


"The carbon dioxide is the main reason for the excitement because, under the right circumstances, it could have a connection to biological activity as it does on Earth," Swain said.
Click to expand...

I just shared that headline with hubby, and almost simultaneously, we both decided someone on that distant planet left their car running... even though that releases carbon monoxide, you get the idea...:)
 
Thanks hubble.

I found methane released from my butt once. Ok, more than once.

We have Hubble, hubby, and Mr. Bubbly, and then Mr. Bubble. I smell trouble.
 
Why are these events (hubble finding CO2, Mars Rover finding ice, etc) always reported as if they are amazing discoveries? Of course water and CO2 and other common molecules will be discovered elsewhere because they're composed of elements that are common throughout the entire friggin Universe. It is as if these scientists doubted that water even existed except on Earth. "Okay, we now know that water isn't exclusive to the Earth. Other places have it, too. Isn't it amazing, isn't it stupendous, isn't it marvelous?" In other news, 40,000 children died today of starvation and thirst and easily treatable illnesses.
 
Don't ask me. Sometimes I confuse myself, too. I guess it is a sign of advancement that we're now able to detect these things. The existence of the molecules in and of themselves should not be a surprise, however. And yes, kids die all the time because our leaders would rather spend money on killing machines than on what is beneficial to everyone.
 
Thanks. I just wasn't sure what the beef was.

Didn't know if it was that we are spending money investigating space and not providing adequate care for children?? Or if the topic is irrelevant altogether. Or just compared to space. Or if it was a separate comment not related.

Anyway the whole CO2 thing is, IMO, is more direct scientific scaffolding for the pursuit of the ultimate scientific question: Are we alone? I mean recently we've seen an image of a planet circling a star. Now we have detected CO2 on such planets.

The accumulation, practice, and future precision of instrumentation will be crucial if we are to answer this question. It hasn't been that long since we were in the dark, so to speak, that other planets actually physically existed. While most have been superhot masssive Jupiters, the future looks better and better for finding more Earthlike ones. And what actually happens when we find that image of the "pale blue dot" with CO2 tracers and whatever else we come up with to verify life??

It's exciting I think. At the same time I do understand the need we have here among, you know, our own kind. It's very troubling to see the needless and heinous acts of both negligence and self interested corruption. Trust me, it makes me literally sick to my stomach. And for some reason I wonder if this is typical of "intelligence" throughout the universe if it exists elsewhere.
 
Chuckleberryfinn said:
Why are these events (hubble finding CO2, Mars Rover finding ice, etc) always reported as if they are amazing discoveries? Of course water and CO2 and other common molecules will be discovered elsewhere because they're composed of elements that are common throughout the entire friggin Universe. It is as if these scientists doubted that water even existed except on Earth. "Okay, we now know that water isn't exclusive to the Earth. Other places have it, too. Isn't it amazing, isn't it stupendous, isn't it marvelous?" In other news, 40,000 children died today of starvation and thirst and easily treatable illnesses.
Click to expand...

Carbon dioxide is used by plants during photosynthesis to make sugars which may either be consumed again in respiration or used as the raw material to produce organic compounds required for plant growth and development.

It is produced during respiration by plants, and by all animals, fungi and microorganisms that depend on living and decaying plants for food, either directly or indirectly.

So you see it is important.


P.S.- Didn't know this is Forum dedicated to children' issues. My apologies, I'll just stop posting.
 
ddd999 said:
It is produced during respiration by plants, and by all animals, fungi and microorganisms that depend on living and decaying plants for food, either directly or indirectly.

So you see it is important.
Click to expand...

Yes it is important, but CO2 can be produced numerous ways, not only by living things. The comination of acids, metals, enormous heat, and various other chemicals reactions also produce the same kind of CO2 that respiration does. It's unlikely that there is life on this planet, as the article states there is no life, ...as far as we understand it (although I'm not willing to take as gospel that we know for certain under what conditions life can "happen")

Anyway, as I stated earlier, it is of significance for a number of reasons.
 
TClaeys said:
Yes it is important, but CO2 can be produced numerous ways, not only by living things. The comination of acids, metals, enormous heat, and various other chemicals reactions also produce the same kind of CO2 that respiration does. It's unlikely that there is life on this planet, as the article states there is no life, ...as far as we understand it (although I'm not willing to take as gospel that we know for certain under what conditions life can "happen")

Anyway, as I stated earlier, it is of significance for a number of reasons.
Click to expand...

You're 100% right. Yet there is a possibility (same as in Earth's atmosphere) that it is also sign of some sort of life form there.

First there was ice/water on mars, than the discovery of an organic sugar molecule in region of our galaxy, now co2 ... what's next?


NASA Headquarters' release :
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life.
 
ddd999 said:
P.S.- Didn't know this is Forum dedicated to children' issues. My apologies, I'll just stop posting.
Click to expand...


Forgive me, I did not realize that general free wheeling chit chat applied to everything except children issues. Thank you for correcting me.

PS: you may want to take a lesson in how to apply irony so that it's actually funny. Feel free to peruse many of my posts which execute it perfectly.
 
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