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 Methane discovered in Martian atmosphere
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/15/2009 :  16:58:36  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Despite the article's sensational headline, the article admits that the new finding neither proves nor disproves present or past life on the Red Planet. But it is interesting. I suppose if a total lack of methane on Mars were discovered, it might be an argument against life.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.

Edited by - HalfMooner on 01/16/2009 13:58:01

filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 01/15/2009 :  17:38:59   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by HalfMooner

Despite the article's sensational headline, the article admits that the new finding neither proves nor disproves present or past life on the Red Planet. But it is interesting. I suppose if a total lack of methane on Mars were discovered, it might be an argument against life.

Well, it would certainly be an argument against Republican, neoconservative life.

I seem to recall that there was some discussion about methane on Mars a couple of years ago. I think one of the landers sensed it, although it might again been an orbiter. I don't recall the particulars.. Anyhow it is very interesting in light of the extremophiles that are so common here on Earth. We know it can happen simply because it already has.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular

Norway
1273 Posts

Posted - 01/15/2009 :  18:18:41   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send On fire for Christ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
wait a minute
Other purely geological processes, like oxidation of iron, also release methane.


Isn't Mars covered in iron oxide?

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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/15/2009 :  18:35:51   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by On fire for Christ

wait a minute
Other purely geological processes, like oxidation of iron, also release methane.


Isn't Mars covered in iron oxide?

Pretty much. The iron oxides give it its rusty color.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular

Norway
1273 Posts

Posted - 01/16/2009 :  06:54:14   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send On fire for Christ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This story has graced the front page of The Sun (Britain's favourite newspaper) 2 days in a row now. Must be a slow week for news, either that or they had a lot of sales from their "UFO hits wind turbine" story.

http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10921

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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 01/16/2009 :  08:31:02   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message  Reply with Quote
A lack of Methane on mars wouldnt really suggest much as it is swept out of the 5% atmosphere so easily.

The Sun is pretty much worthless, the headline manipulators need to die, I can't stand that shite, MSNBC is really bad about it too and they are supposed to be legit. At least the Sun has Boobies to go with their bad headlines.

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular

Norway
1273 Posts

Posted - 01/16/2009 :  08:33:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send On fire for Christ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The Sun is pretty much worthless


I think they have excellent sports coverage.

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Simon
SFN Regular

USA
1992 Posts

Posted - 01/16/2009 :  11:27:06   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Simon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think that methane was one of the main gazes present at the beginning of life. So, that'd be another similarity between Mars and Earth of the time.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996
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the_ignored
SFN Addict

2562 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  16:22:44   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send the_ignored a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Our old friend Answers in Genesis has finally gotten on the ball here.

After quoting that one guy from the "Sun"...
The only certainty is that there's, as of yet, no evidence of life on Mars definitive enough to convince all evolutionists, let alone creationists.

Nonetheless, plenty of evolutionists -- scientists and laypersons alike -- are emphatic that "we're not alone" and believe it's only a matter of time until Martian life turns up. Pope represents this view. There's nothing scientific about it; it's pure dogma, but quite expectable considering the predictions of the evolutionary worldview.

There's always that slim possibility that Mars -- or some other astronomical body -- is harboring something that we'd call "life" on earth. No Bible verse declares absolutely that God didn't, e.g., put microbes on Mars or viruses on Venus, although there are plenty of good arguments against the likelihood of that. But unless tomorrow's astronauts actually find direct evidence of life on Mars, it doesn't take much effort to chalk the indirect evidence up to evolutionism-fueled speculation.


Note how they
1) cover their asses by saying that the bible doesn't explicity rule such things out
2) Deride the whole thing as "evolutionism-fueled" speculation.

Note the slight contradiction there?

3) Something else: they seem to have contempt for the fact that earlier specultion is always shot down by scientists. Isn't the the opposite of creationist claims that science doesn't correct itself?

At least they say that most "evolutionists" aren't convinced yet.


>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.

What brought that on? this. Original posting here.

Another example of this guy's lunacy here.
Edited by - the_ignored on 01/18/2009 16:28:24
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular

Norway
1273 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  20:04:46   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send On fire for Christ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It seems like some creationists assume that the search for martian life is somehow for their benefit. As if scoring points against religion is the sole motivation for scientific progress

Edited by - On fire for Christ on 01/18/2009 20:05:18
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  20:07:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by the_ignored

Something else: they seem to have contempt for the fact that earlier specultion is always shot down by scientists. Isn't the the opposite of creationist claims that science doesn't correct itself?
Loud and clear. They would love to have it both ways:

1) Science as a flighty collection of ever-changing fads, that jumps from one thought to the next by the minute (Oh, look, there's a butterfly!), and

2) Science as an evil religion, with all that institution's hidebound dogma. (Odd, isn't it, that they accuse their enemies of being what they themselves are? Can you spell P-R-O-J-E-C-T-I-O-N?)

Good catch, ig!


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
Edited by - HalfMooner on 01/18/2009 20:11:02
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  20:14:38   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by On fire for Christ

It seems like some creationists assume that the search for martian life is somehow for their benefit. As if scoring points against religion is the sole motivation for scientific progress
Well, if the Creos think that scientists are looking for extraterrestrial life in order to help them, they should be given a Nobel Prize for their egos. Scientific progress is something that takes place neither to help nor to spite, but in spite of people like the Creationists.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
Edited by - HalfMooner on 01/18/2009 20:18:35
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular

Norway
1273 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  20:45:06   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send On fire for Christ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I didn't mean it that way, I meant benefit as in, "was that for my benefit?"

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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  21:04:22   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by On fire for Christ

I didn't mean it that way, I meant benefit as in, "was that for my benefit?"
Maybe I'm just dense here, sorry. You mean the Creationists think scientists are looking for Martian life to benefit Creos, like to feed it to them, or something?


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
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Simon
SFN Regular

USA
1992 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  22:52:18   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Simon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I read it as: [fundie]'Scientists are looking for extraterrestrial life as a way to gain argument in the naturalistic abiogenesis. Because, ultimately, the final goal of Science is a fight against God'. [/fundie]

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2009 :  23:04:20   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Simon

I read it as: [fundie]'Scientists are looking for extraterrestrial life as a way to gain argument in the naturalistic abiogenesis. Because, ultimately, the final goal of Science is a fight against God'. [/fundie]
Ah, thanks for the assist!




Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
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