red life!

[Moontanman]

Is the color red an indication of life? many bodies in the outer reaches if the solar system are covered with red stuff. Could this red stuff be alive and only able to live in very cold places?

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

Is the color red an indication of life?

Why would it be? It could just be iron oxide.

Martian dust is reddish mostly due the spectral properties of nanophase ferric oxides (npOx) that tend to dominate in the visible spectrum. The specific npOx minerals have not been fully constrained, but nanocrystalline red hematite (α-Fe2O3) may be the volumetrically dominant one,[5] at least at the less than 100 µm sampling depth[6] of infrared remote sensors such as the Mars Express OMEGA instrument. The rest of the iron in the dust, perhaps as much as 50% of the mass, may be in titanium enriched magnetite (Fe3O4).[7] Magnetite is usually black in color with a black streak[8], and does not contribute to the reddish hue of dust.

Mars surface color - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

many bodies in the outer reaches if the solar system are covered with red stuff. Could this red stuff be alive and only able to live in very cold places?

Huh? Which "bodies" are you speaking of?

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Why would it be? It could just be iron oxide.


Mars surface color - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Huh? Which "bodies" are you speaking of?

first I wasn't talking about mars, it's not in the outer solar system but the ice moons of jupiter and other icy bodies in the outer solar system seem to be covered at least partially by some sort of red stuff. Often it is strongest in cracks in the crust but pluto is thought to covered with it.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

first I wasn't talking about mars, it's not in the outer solar system but the ice moons of jupiter and other icy bodies in the outer solar system seem to be covered at least partially by some sort of red stuff. Often it is strongest in cracks in the crust but pluto is thought to covered with it.

Ok, what's second?

The reason I used Mars as an example was because it is known as the "red planet". As the quote I posted states, "the spectral properties of nanophase ferric oxides (npOx) that tend to dominate in the visible spectrum" are a significant attributing factor to Mars appearing red. I'll plead unfamiliarity with the other far-flung planetary bodies, for now.

Although the origin of life is yet unknown, there is no scientific evidence of which I am aware that points to ferr(ic?)ous oxide species playing a critical role in the evidence of life, neither before nor after life. If you are aware of such research, I would love to see it.

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Ok, what's second?

The reason I used Mars as an example was because it is known as the "red planet". As the quote I posted states, "the spectral properties of nanophase ferric oxides (npOx) that tend to dominate in the visible spectrum" are a significant attributing factor to Mars appearing red. I'll plead unfamiliarity with the other far-flung planetary bodies, for now.

Although the origin of life is yet unknown, there is no scientific evidence of which I am aware that points to ferr(ic?)ous oxide species playing a critical role in the evidence of life, neither before nor after life. If you are aware of such research, I would love to see it.

Ok I'll admit mars is known as the red planet but I am talking about complex hydrocarbons that build up on icy bodies in the outer solar system. When we talk about life we usually mean life like us but the hydrocarbons are stable and have a source that replenishes them on a regular basis. IE cosmic rays and other radiation. If this is true and nothing comsumes these hydrocarbons (I use the term loosely) then all thesde icy bodies would be covered deep in red sludge. Some sort of weird metabolism would seem to fit the bill. Not in the creation of the red stuff but in consumeing it.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

Ok I'll admit mars is known as the red planet but I am talking about complex hydrocarbons that build up on icy bodies in the outer solar system. When we talk about life we usually mean life like us but the hydrocarbons are stable and have a source that replenishes them on a regular basis. IE cosmic rays and other radiation. If this is true and nothing comsumes these hydrocarbons (I use the term loosely) then all thesde icy bodies would be covered deep in red sludge. Some sort of weird metabolism would seem to fit the bill. Not in the creation of the red stuff but in consumeing it.

I'm confused why you bring up hydrocarbons. Can you explain your reasoning?
Cosmic rays do not contain hydrocarbons btw.

[freeztar]

Here's a quote from wiki on Pluto:

It is light brown with a very slight tint of yellow.[34]

Spectroscopic analysis of Pluto's surface reveals it to be composed of more than 98 percent nitrogen ice, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.

Pluto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I'm confused why you bring up hydrocarbons. Can you explain your reasoning?
Cosmic rays do not contain hydrocarbons btw.

No, cosmic rays do not contain any apreceable amount of hydrocarbons but cosmic rays reacting with simple molecules like methane ethane and others produce some sort of red color that dominates the icy bodies in the outer solar system.

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Here's a quote from wiki on Pluto:



Pluto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

this is why i don't like wikipedia, the knolege you get is only half there!
SPACE.com -- The Enduring Mysteries of the Outer Solar System

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

this is why i don't like wikipedia, the knolege you get is only half there!
SPACE.com -- The Enduring Mysteries of the Outer Solar System

Great article, thanks.

But...umm...it doesn't say anything about Pluto being red.
The Pluto wiki stands...

The article does say this:

The red colors suggest this substance might contain organic molecules. Comets and other planetoids are often thought to have helped bring organic molecules to Earth.

"In the Kuiper belt objects, organics might have been 'cooked' by cosmic ray radiation, giving them dark red surfaces, but there is no proof," Jewitt said. Ideally spacecraft could go out there and find out, he added.

Unfortunately, they don't mention why the red suggests organic molecules.
And of course, they don't have any proof.