Oxygen found on Saturn's moon Rhea

Oxygen found on Saturn's moon Rhea

www.guardian.co.uk

A spacecraft has tasted oxygen in the atmosphere of another world for the first time while flying low over Saturn's icy moon, Rhea.

Nasa's Cassini probe scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere of the planet's moon while passing overhead at an altitude of 97km in March this year.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I wonder what it tasted like.

First time they really seen oxygen in the atmosphere of another world.

Everything needed to hold life is out in the universe. And one day, if not soon, we'll find that other planet with that life.

The possibilities are endless of what whats to be discovered.

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Very interesting news.. Good find

Stop the planet, I'm getting off.

Please forward all mail to Rhea (no junkmail or nuisance callers).

....now where did I leave my ear warmers??

Ahh but pure oxygen is actually poisonous..

I'll stay here ta.

Anywhere in the *everything* that water exists, you have oxygen and hydrogen.

Air, is what we breathe however..

Not pure oxygen.

Next when they find Water, ..... oh that oxygen and hydrogen... WE hope to find the special additive of little fishies!

reply to post by Oozii


I wouldn't be suprised if the whole universe is living. We define life as WE KNOW IT and not how IT COULD BE. For all we know the whole universe is as a giant body not unlike the human body. Who knows maybe we are living on a scaled UP electron orbiting protons and neutrons. Who knows maybe its all Russian eggs The closer you look the more details you find..

reply to post by TheRemedial


I've liked this idea ever since I first learnt of the nature of atoms in my school years. It's a thing of beauty that atoms loosely replicate a scaled down universe, bodies orbiting a central mass and all.

What if the there's an underlying dimension that means the universe is inversely looped on itself, meaning a group of atoms in your finger nail is in fact the universe itself? You never know with this quantum stuff, it gets weirder by the day.

reply to post by Iam'___'


Agreed, it's beyond me though. I have absolutely no clue and proudly can state that I indeed only know that I know nothing.

One other thing I have wondered was if we added steril water on say the mars rover and soaked a small area and then tested it for life forms after say 24-48hrs. I believe someone conducted an experiment pertaining to this with steril sands / water with success. That being said, implications of powdered meteoroites as cosmic seeds and how many new species/organisms are observed on earth?

-Is everyone related to everything? Does everything we do end up being related to everyone because everything is everyone; just not at the same time? (Nothing can be destroyed completely only traded to the infinite)

reply to post by TheRemedial

As regards to life piggy backing meteorites, check out these babies : Tardigrades

Not to mention the bacterium found on the Arctic sea floor that's reckoned to survive up to 100 million years in hibernation. All food for thought.

I agree with one of the posters above, pure oxygen is not good...

However, this is a great find.

That is great!
Thank for share this news. S&F.

After Titan www.abovetopsecret.com... now Rhea!

Step by step NASA.... Step by step....

Here an interesting video simulation of the flyby... enjoy

Ahh but pure oxygen is actually poisonous..

I agree with one of the posters above, pure oxygen is not good...

There is nothing wrong with breathing pure oxygen, as long as its partial pressure is the same as that of oxygen in the air, 21 kPa.

60% Oxygen?!? Couldn't that be a major explosive hazard??? Pretty sure. Maybe there hasn't been any ignition sources on Rhea. Man, if we dropped a match into that atmosphere, the entire moon would be engulfed in an inferno.

*I have a plan...*

Originally posted by harrytuttle
60% Oxygen?!? Couldn't that be a major explosive hazard???

Fire needs fuel, heat and oxygen. Take one of those away and you have no chance of your explosion. I doubt a cigarette would last very long though.

Originally posted by Iam'___'
I've liked this idea ever since I first learnt of the nature of atoms in my school years. It's a thing of beauty that atoms loosely replicate a scaled down universe, bodies orbiting a central mass and all.

Unfortunately while the Bohr model of the atom (the one that illustrates an atom like a small solar system) is taught for convenience and simplification, when you advance in physics you learn that it is not actually an accurate model at all. Rather than electrons orbiting a nucleus they populate a 'probability cloud' area around the nucleus instead.
Also while it is convenient to visualise electrons, protons and neutrons as points or tiny spheres for the sake of simplicity, they do not actually have any form such as this. If you subscribe to string theory for instance they may be visualised as closed and open loop strings which vibrate at different frequencies within several dimensions.
These are still quite crude explanations, the detailed models involved truly boggle the mind when you get down to it!
In conclusion though, contrary to popular belief the makeup of atoms do not actually mirror solar systems at all I'm afraid.

I love the Cassini probe. Such a great device. Maybe Rhea could be a stepping stone on longer space hikes someday. An ice moon city would be a fantastic place to take the family on vacation. Great find.

reply to post by AgentSmith

Thanx for the info Smithy. I never thought that high school physics was up to much.
I've just started reading about quantum physics after coming across some theories, there's plenty to get my head around and apparently I never will.

“If anybody says he can think about quantum physics without getting giddy, that only shows he has not understood the first thing about them.” - Niels Bohr

Well i'm starting to feel giddy but I don't understand the first thing about them

Oh it's compeltely mind boggling. Anyone that says they understand it is all is either lying or Stephen Hawking! Some of the stuff is just fantastic, it really is fascinating :-D I love it, when you start to grasp some of the concepts you can't help but sit back in awe. The amazing things is we only know the tip of the iceberg, there is SO much to learn.

At last! An oxygen battery at a point in our solar system for it to be an excellent oxygen recharge. All the while it's ion bombardment upon the icy surface will kick up a constant supply. Genious invention this Rhea. Thanks God or The Universe!

Originally posted by harrytuttle
60% Oxygen?!? Couldn't that be a major explosive hazard??? Pretty sure. Maybe there hasn't been any ignition sources on Rhea. Man, if we dropped a match into that atmosphere, the entire moon would be engulfed in an inferno.

*I have a plan...*

Ignition would be infrequent and explosions would be smaller than what you would think due to the thin atmosphere, but could happen.