#alternate alternate 2 Desktop notifications are on | Turn off Get breaking news alerts from The Washington Post Turn on desktop notifications? Yes Not now It looks like you've previously blocked notifications. Please update your browser permissions to allow them. [notification_denied_v1.png] The Washington Post * ____________________ * Sections * * Sign In * Username * Subscribe ____________________ (BUTTON) * Home Page U.S. & World | Regional * Politics + PowerPost + The Fix + White House + Courts and Law + Polling + Monkey Cage + Fact Checker + Post Politics Blog * Opinions + The Post's View + Toles Cartoons + Telnaes Animations + Local Opinions + Global Opinions + Letters to the Editor + Act Four + All Opinions Are Local + Book Party + Compost + Erik Wemple + Five Myths + In Theory + The Plum Line + PostEverything + PostPartisan + Rampage + Right Turn + The Watch + Volokh Conspiracy + The Missing Debate * Sports + Redskins + NFL + MLB + NBA + NHL + AllMetSports + Soccer + Boxing/MMA + College Sports + College Football + College Basketball + D.C. Sports Bog + Early Lead + Fancy Stats + Golf + Tennis + Fantasy Sports * Local + D.C. + Maryland + Virginia + Public Safety + Education + Obituaries + Transportation + Weather * National + Acts of Faith + Health and Science + National Security + Investigations + Morning Mix + Post Nation + True Crime + Obituaries * World + Africa + The Americas + Asia and Pacific + Europe + Middle East + National Security + WorldViews + Checkpoint * Business + Wonkblog + On Leadership + Personal Finance + Digger + Energy and Environment + Markets + On Small Business + World Business + Capital Business * Tech + Innovations + The Switch * Lifestyle + Arts and Entertainment + Advice + Carolyn Hax + Food + Travel + Wellness + Magazine + Home and Garden + Inspired Life + Fashion + KidsPost + On Parenting + Reliable Source + The Intersect + Solo-ish * Entertainment + Books + Comics + Comic Riffs + Going Out Guide + Horoscopes + Movies + Museums + Music + Puzzles and Games + Theater and Dance + TV + Restaurants + Bars & Clubs * Crosswords * Video + World + Top News + Entertainment + Local + Popular Video + Politics + Live + Sports + Opinions + National + Business + Technology + Style * Photography + In Sight * Washington Post Live + Events * Live Chats * Real Estate + Rentals + Where We Live + Recently Sold Homes * Cars * Jobs * Classifieds * Partners + Express + Parade * WP BrandStudio * washingtonpost.com * 1996-2017 The Washington Post * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy * Submissions and Discussion Policy * RSS Terms of Service * Ad Choices The Washington Post Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Tumblr Resize Text Print Article Comments The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! ____________________ Sign up *Invalid email address Got it Got it Speaking of Science Saturn’s moon Titan could have the right chemistry for life The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! ____________________ Sign up *Invalid email address Got it Got it By Rachel Feltman By Rachel Feltman July 7, 2016 Follow @rachelfeltman [PIA20016-1024x1024.jpg&w=480] This composite image shows an infrared view of Saturn's moon Titan from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/University of Idaho) Titan, Saturn's aptly named largest moon, is exactly the kind of place we want to visit: NASA describes it as "one of the most Earth-like worlds we have found to date." It has a dense atmosphere and stable lakes and rivers. Its air isn't breathable (it's almost entirely nitrogen, with a little methane thrown in instead of oxygen), and its rivers, lakes and oceans are full of liquid methane and ethane. And at -290 Fahrenheit, it's way too cold for a human to chill on. But if you had a breathing mask and the best thermal underwear ever created, you could jump around in gravity a bit weaker than our own moon's and see some surprisingly Earth-like features. You might even see some liquid water spewing out of volcanoes, lava-style. [Why does Saturn’s moon look so much like Earth?] According to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this bizarro world might have what we call prebiotic conditions — chemicals that could theoretically come together to build and support life as we know it. (Well, life a lot chillier than we know it.) This colorized clip from NASA's Cassini mission shows views of Saturn's moon Titan, taken from radar data collected from multiple flyovers between 2004 and 2013 (Youtube/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) "We are used to our own conditions here on Earth. Our scientific experience is at room temperature and ambient conditions. Titan is a completely different beast," Martin Rahm, postdoctoral researcher in chemistry at Cornell and lead author of the new study, said in a statement. "So if we think in biological terms, we're probably going to be at a dead end." [Why dying stars may be a good place to look for alien life] According to Rahm and his colleagues, one of the things that makes Titan utterly unappealing to Earthlings — the abundance of noxious hydrogen cyanide that forms when sunlight hits the hazy atmosphere — could actually help support life. [51592058.jpg&w=480] (NASA via Getty Images) They showed that it's possible, at least hypothetically, for hydrogen cyanide to react with some of the other molecules found on Titan to produce molecular chains or polymers, including one called polyimine. That wouldn't mean much under earthly conditions. But at Titan's temperatures, they say, polyimine could potentially have the kind of properties that would support microbial evolution. It would be flexible, according to the researcher's models, allowing it to adopt more than one structure, and its ability to absorb sunlight might help it provide energy for life in the primordial ooze. Not even this computer modeling showed exactly how life would come together on Titan, so it's a little early to go alien hunting. But polyimine is at least one way that the evolution of life might theoretically be possible there. [The building blocks of life weren’t that hard to put together] "This paper is indicating that prerequisites for processes leading to a different kind of life could exist on Titan, but this is only the first step," Rahm said. With a whole lot of luck, there might indeed be microbes wriggling around the seas of Titan. But we probably won't know until we check it out for ourselves: The Cassini and Huygens missions gave us tantalizing glimpses of Titan and a treasure trove of data on its thick, hazy atmosphere, but sending a probe to its surface would tell us once and for all what kind of life-giving processes are going on there. Of course, we'd have to be extremely careful not to contaminate any microbial life we found: The reason NASA's Mars rovers aren't allowed to traipse through areas where we've seen signs of liquid water is that they aren't sterile enough to guarantee no Earth microbes would hitch a ride and colonize Martian marshes. But that doesn't mean a mission to Titan is out of the question. We'll be looking for life on at least one other moon sometime soon. NASA is in the early planning stages for a robotic mission to Europa sometime in the next few decades. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is very different from Titan: Like all the other bodies in the solar system (save Earth, of course) it lacks any stable liquid on its surface. But Europa is covered by a subsurface ocean. Because its icy crust is made of mostly water, scientists hope this moon's seas contain liquid water as well — creating a hostile but potentially habitable environment not unlike subglacial lakes here on Earth. Read More: Are Saturn’s rings (and moons) younger than the dinosaurs? Life in the ocean’s darkest depths is even weirder than scientists thought Why NASA’s top scientist is sure that we’ll find signs of alien life in the next decade A violent sun and a sky full of laughing gas could have led to life on Earth Dear Science: Why aren’t apes evolving into humans? national health-science speaking-of-science Dallas shooting updates News and analysis on the deadliest day for police since 9/11. post_newsletter353 follow-dallas false after3th false Please provide a valid email address. ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign up You’re all set! See all newsletters national health-science speaking-of-science Orlando Shooting Updates News and analysis on the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. post_newsletter348 follow-orlando false endOfArticle false Please provide a valid email address. ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign up You’re all set! See all newsletters Comments * Share on FacebookShare * Share on TwitterTweet * Share via Email [Feltman_Rachel_Personality1405629250.jpg&w=180&h=180] Rachel Feltman runs The Post's Speaking of Science blog. Follow @rachelfeltman Show Comments Discussion Policy 0 Comments SuperFan Badge SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams. More about badges | Request a badge Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment. More about badges | Request a badge Fact Checker Badge Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker. More about badges | Request a badge Washingtologist Badge Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area. More about badges | Request a badge Post Writer Badge This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer. Post Forum Badge Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs. More about badges | Request a badge Weather Watcher Badge Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts. More about badges | Request a badge World Watcher Badge World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs. More about badges | Request a badge Post Contributor Badge This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story. More about badges | Request a badge Post Recommended Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post. You must be logged in to report a comment. Sign in here You must be logged in to recommend a comment. Sign in here Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. All comments are posted in the All Comments tab. More about badges Get a badge To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in. Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. * Spam * Offensive * Disagree * Off-Topic Among the criteria for featured comments: likes by users, replies by users, previous history of valuable commenting, and selection by moderators. * + Facebook + Twitter + Reddit + StumbleUpon + Digg + Delicious Sign up for email updates from the "Confronting the Caliphate" series. You have signed up for the "Confronting the Caliphate" series. ____________________ Add ✕ Thank you for signing up You'll receive e-mail when new stories are published in this series. Most Read * 1 [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=60&h=60&filter=nearest&fmt= png] [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=138&h=92&filter=nearest&fmt =png] Trump says ‘all is going well’ on immigration order amid questions, confusion, while Obama backs protesters * 2 [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=60&h=60&filter=nearest&fmt= png] [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=138&h=92&filter=nearest&fmt =png] The Latest: GOP senator hits White House Holocaust statement * 3 [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=60&h=60&filter=nearest&fmt= png] [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=138&h=92&filter=nearest&fmt =png] Meet the rookie federal judge who halted Trump’s refugee deportations — to save a Syrian * 4 [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=60&h=60&filter=nearest&fmt= png] [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=138&h=92&filter=nearest&fmt =png] ‘Thirty-six million hearts are breaking’: Terrorist attack at Canadian mosque leaves a nation shaken * 5 [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=60&h=60&filter=nearest&fmt= png] [spacer.gif&op=resize&w=138&h=92&filter=nearest&fmt =png] The ACLU says it got $24 million in online donations this weekend, six times its yearly average Our Online Games Play right from this page Mahjongg Dimensions Strategy game Spider Solitaire Card game Mahjongg Candy Strategy game Word Wipe Word game national health-science speaking-of-science Success! Check your inbox for details. ____________________ Add Sign me up Please enter a valid email address You might also like: [X] [X] [X] (BUTTON) Sign Up (BUTTON) No Thanks See all newsletters * washingtonpost.com * © 1996-2017 The Washington Post * * Help and Contact Us * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy * Print Products Terms of Sale * Digital Products Terms of Sale * Submissions and Discussion Policy * RSS Terms of Service * Ad Choices Close video player Now Playing Read content from allstate Content from Allstate This content is paid for by an advertiser and published by WP BrandStudio. The Washington Post newsroom was not involved in the creation of this content. Learn more about WP BrandStudio. We went to the source. Here’s what matters to millennials. A state-by-state look at where Generation Y stands on the big issues. [p?c1=2&c2=3005617&cv=2.0&cj=1]