Life found on the Moon!

 

This will be the headline of some report put out by NASA or some other space agency in the future, but it will not be our moon where it is found. Our moon is barren, though water ice has been discovered in the shadows of some of its craters.

One hundred sixty plus moons orbit planets in our solar system alone. My bet is someday we find life on at least one of them, maybe a couple. Not intelligent life, but microbial at least. I believe multi-cellular life, (squiggly-wigglies) will be found on one.

“Aren’t all moons the same?” you might ask. In reality each one has a history that makes one as different as one can imagine.

Here are some of my favorites.

Io: A moon of Jupiter subjected to tidal flexing more than any object known. The gravity of Jupiter pulls at the crust of Io like our moon causes the ocean tides here on Earth. Io experiences more volcanic, seismic and tectonic activity than any other body in this solar system. Its innards are thrown out into space and some fall on other moons of the jovian giant.

Europa: Has more liquid water than the planet we live on, even though it is smaller than earth. The surface is covered with several miles of ice that shows signs of the same plate tectonics that shape our mountains and some of our deepest ocean trenches. The elements of life are delivered by Io. This should make a soup perfect for life. Extremophiles are plentiful here on Earth, why shouldn’t they exist where ever the environment supplies the ingredients for life?

Enceladus: A moon of Saturn. Water geysers have been observed, meaning liquid water beneath the ice. More soup.

Titan: Another satellite of Saturn is the most mysterious of the moons. A dense atmosphere obscures most data, but is a wealth of data in itself. Hydrocarbons fall like rain and snow. Liquid methane flows like rivers do here pouring into lakes. Are there slow moving squiggly wigglies wiggling around in those lakes? Only time will tell as long as we keep exploring.

I want to know, don’t you?

 

 

 

The approach of fall brings out another persona in me – one who doesn’t get out as much as he should. This part of me is more at home in the woods of the Adirondacks.

Posts on Facebook seem less important now than they did a week ago. Planning for hunting and trapping seasons stirs something in me. The loss of chlorophyll in the maples, aspen, beech and cherry not only change the view, but also the smell of the woods. The tannic smell of decaying leaves fills the nostrils, decipherable at this time of year more than any other time.

These are the seasons set by Man when we can harvest renewable resources.

My grandson harvested his first squirrel. One shot, one kill.

Why would I teach a youngster to kill for sport?

Not only did I teach him how to harvest as humanely as possible, but showed him how to skin and keep the most palatable parts inside, the heart and liver. I taught him respect for the animal we killed. We both ate all but the bones of that red squirrel.

When gutting the animal I explained how the anatomy of the rodent was little different than his or his brother’s.

Should I pass what I know of nature to the next generation? Even if some don’t like it, I must.

This aspect of nature is as real as quarks, black holes or physics; but tastes delicious.

Why I Don't Believe in the Pseudo Sciences

I don’t believe in ghosts any more than I believe in Bigfoot, crop circles or aliens.

“Why?”  You might ask, “You are a science fiction writer.”

I need proof. Nothing has been proven to support Bigfoot, ghosts or crop circles. There is no proof of ancient aliens, and why would a more intelligent species than ours travel the great distances needed to come here? What do we have that any superior race needs that isn’t already out there in the universe? The elements here on earth are everywhere else; why travel so far to get them? If all they want is to probe our anuses, there are some perverted aliens out there!

No I don’t think any of the conspiracy theories are true.  We did land on the moon, aliens are not among us and I do think this is Eden, but I don’t believe in angels.