Methane Weather

[GypsyComet]

http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/computer-model-explains-titan-mystery/

The implications that methane weather patterns are somewhat similar to our more familiar N-O atmospheric patterns means that some of those Atmosphere 'A' and 'B' worlds may be easier to describe than we've been thinking.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have been working on the idea that there is an entire other interstellar culture based on methane breathers that "overlaps" the OTU setting. Since they don't go for the same worlds, the two civilizations basically ignore each other.

I have been rereading Poul Anderson's Technic civilization and some of his Van Rijn/Falkayn books use this idea (cuminating in Mirkheim).

CJ Cherryh uses a similar idea, although the races are more interactive in her Chanur books.

 

[BP]

Cool.

Methane breathers always featured into my TU - I found James White's Sector General series to be a great source of inspiration for such...

 

[Prime_Evil]

Cool.

Methane breathers always featured into my TU - I found James White's Sector General series to be a great source of inspiration for such...

There's a good podcast from Dr. Chris McKay at NASA Ames Research Center available in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Podcast series in which he discusses the possibility of life on Titan and talks about the biochemistry of organisms that might live in a methane-rich environment. The natural abundance of complex hydrocarbons in this environment and the relative lack of free oxygen naturally lead to a very different form of organic chemistry.

The podcast is available here if ytou feel like giving it a listen:

http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/mckay.mp3

Many of the other podcasts in this series are also worth a listen - check them out here:

http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/

 

[BP]

Nice - thanks for the links Prime_Evil!

 

[SSWarlock]

Awesome link, Prime_Evil. Some incredible stuff there. Thank you.

And the info on Titan's weather is very cool as well (no pun intended). Despite all the problems in the world today, things like this prove it's a great time to be alive.