Is There Alien Life On Saturn's Titan?

Recent findings released by NASA scientists, indicate that there may be evidence of alien life on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. However, before you conjure up images of E.T. like creatures, keep in mind that the aliens, if indeed there are any, are of the most primitive form.

The information was gleaned from the data picked up by NASA's space probe, Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn for the last five years and sending back not only amazing photos, but also invaluable data about the ringed planet and its moons.

While Saturn is inhabitable, scientists have always believed that Titan could harbor life because of its dense atmosphere and a landscape that is similar to that of Earth, complete with mountains, lakes and rivers.

However, the liquid on Titan is not water by methane, leading scientists to conclude that if there is indeed life, it has to be something that could survive on this potent greenhouse gas. Their first piece of evidence came with the realization that despite the fact that hydrogen was omnipresent in Titan's atmosphere, it seemed to disappear when it reached the moon's surface - Could there be alien bugs devouring the hydrogen?

Their next clue came also as a result of a missing chemical - In this instance it is acetlyene, which should have been forming when the gases in the moon's atmosphere react with sunlight. However, they found no evidence of this hydrocarbon on Titan's surface, leading them to believe, that it was being consumed by alien beings.

While there could be many other explanations for the missing chemicals, scientists believe that the two facts together is proof that some sort of methane-based life exists on Titan.

They have also reached the conclusion that Saturn's moon has the chemistry needed to produce more advanced life - All that is needed is a little warmth to jumpstart the process, which they believe will occur in 4 billion year when the Sun swells and becomes ever larger. At that time, Titan will be a paradise to live on, though neither we nor our ancestors will be around to experience it, because when the sun gets to that size, it will end up swallowing the Earth!

Sources: dailymail.co.uk,beforeitsnews.com, www.nasa.gov