Life on Mars

[roy-nexus-6]

 

"A research team at Johnson Space Centre in Houston has been re-examining a meteorite that hit Antarctica 13,000 years ago, and found the most compelling evidence yet that the planet once harboured bacterial life."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6699886/Nasa-compelling-evidence-of-life-on-Mars.html

[zarn02]

You know, if it doesn't involve getting it on with green women like Captain Kirk, I just can't get all that excited about extraterrestrial life.

[superjohn]

It's a God awful small affair to the girl with the mousy hair.




<some people will get that>

[Grampa]

Life On Mars? - David Bowie

[Kopfjäger]

Life on mars....duh, good thing they're making the big bucks. I mean, where the make the beast with two backs do they think Martians come from? Venus?

[Holden]

This may sound like a stupid question, but...

what's a Martian meteorite doing in Antarctica?

[zarn02]

This may sound like a stupid question, but...

what's a Martian meteorite doing in Antarctica?

Just chilling.
















(You've been a great audience! I'll be here all week.)

[brimo]

^
not bad for an amateur.

[roy-nexus-6]

This may sound like a stupid question, but...

what's a Martian meteorite doing in Antarctica?

If an asteroid hits a planet hard enough, pieces of the planet can be knocked into space... Our moon was formed that way.
Anyway, one such piece from mars crashed to earth 13 000 year ago. 

[Holden]

If an asteroid hits a planet hard enough, pieces of the planet can be knocked into space... Our moon was formed that way.
Anyway, one such piece from mars crashed to earth 13 000 year ago.  

Right, so how do they know it came from Mars in the first place?

and what makes them think the bacteria isn't 12,999.9 year old Antarctic bacteria?

[Mad Duc]

[roy-nexus-6]

Right, so how do they know it came from Mars in the first place?

and what makes them think the bacteria isn't 12,999.9 year old Antarctic bacteria?

"Mars meteorites include three rare groups of achondritic (stony) meteorite  s (16 objects total) with isotope  ratios that are said to be consistent with each other and inconsistent with the Earth. It should be pointed out, however, that the isotope ratios do not actually match Mars  ratios especially well, to the extent that Mars ratios are known, although they do differ substantially from Earth isotope ratios and from what is known of Lunar ratios. "
http://infao5501.ag5.mpi-sb.mpg.de:8080/topx/archive?link=Wikipedia-Lip6-2/67216.xml&style