Unexpected Chemical Discovery on Titan
Scientists from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and NASA have made a surprising discovery on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, that challenges one of the most basic principles in chemistry.
The finding could change how researchers think about the chemistry that existed before life began on Earth—and possibly elsewhere in the universe.
Titan is an icy world with lakes, rivers, and seas of liquid methane and ethane on its surface, making it one of the most Earth-like bodies in the solar system.
Because Titan's conditions may resemble those of early Earth billions of years ago, scientists have long studied it to understand how life's building blocks might first have formed.
The discovery could rewrite the rules of life's origins.
Author's summary: New discovery on Titan challenges chemical principles.