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Keithic t1_j19pntt wrote

Reply to comment by A40 in Mars' ancient atmosphere may not have had much oxygen after all by pecika

CO2 and Nitrogen are an almost certainty early on in Mar's life. As for methane, I'm no chemist, but It doesn't last long in the atmosphere and is primarily only produced by life here on Earth.

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Ituzzip t1_j19s443 wrote

Methane doesn’t last long because it reacts with oxygen. If there’s no free oxygen, methane can be a major component of the atmosphere (ie the gas giant planets).

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Keithic t1_j19ufar wrote

Is there evidence for Methane in the early atmosphere of Mars?

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Ituzzip t1_j19w0n4 wrote

I don’t know about ancient mars, but it can come from biotic and abiotic processes and the atmosphere on Mars has a bit of methane on it right now, and that’s been subject to a lot of inquiry.

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VCRdrift t1_j1d07p0 wrote

Think there's a planet with a moon in our solar system that have rivers and lakes of methane.

We need to send a probe and light that moon on fire.

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GunnarRoxen t1_j1d40fa wrote

Titan, moon of Saturn. It has methane rain, rivers and lakes, and an atmospheric pressure one and a half that of Earth. The surface "geology" is frozen water ice forming mountains, plains etc. Very interesting moon! Also probably has a subsurface liquid water ocean beneath the "crust".

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[deleted] t1_j1fig8v wrote

[deleted]

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VCRdrift t1_j1flayb wrote

We need to spend billions and find the answer to this question. And if a flame isn't enough, maybe a hellfire missile.

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xW1nterW0lfx t1_j1bjq6v wrote

So Jupiter smells like ass?

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MechaSandstar t1_j1bld3w wrote

No, methane has no smell. Mercaptoethanol is added to it (and propane) to make gas leaks detectable.

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YogurtclosetFirst456 t1_j1bshrd wrote

Methane has no smell, that’s why it’s so deadly. I think your thinking of sulfur gas.

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trixayyyyy t1_j1c7wx0 wrote

I thought methane had a smell because of farts. Are farts even made of methane?

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Ancient_Bags t1_j1c9qfz wrote

Farts are flammable due to methane. Sulfur is more of an eggy smell. Leaking car batteries are a pretty potent example. Mountain homes with well water often have H2S (hydrogen sulfide) in higher amounts. This is what makes the water smell like absolute crap and taste awful.

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Possible-Highway7898 t1_j1cccbv wrote

Some farts contain methane. Not all.

Per Wikipedia: Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane. For example, in one study of the faeces of nine adults, only five of the samples contained archaea capable of producing methane

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Rupertfitz t1_j1db3ur wrote

Hydrogen sulfide is the fart smell. But methane is what makes farts flammable ETA: upon further research I’ve learned that farts can travel about 10 feet per second, or approximately 6.8 miles per hour. Just wanted everyone else to know.

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GaseousGiant t1_j1dqgh2 wrote

No no, that’s the rotteneggfart you’re thinking of. The smell of ass is largely derived from volatile fatty acids derived from bacterial decomposition of proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Same as shit, basically.

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zoicyte t1_j1afoh5 wrote

I used to do mars research as an undergraduate and if I recall correctly there was some methane detection on Mars a couple years ago. I don’t know how that got explained but as you said - one doesn’t simply find methane just hanging around without a source that produces it….

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LamatoRodriguez t1_j1apoqr wrote

Im not sure if methane would survive without a solid magnetosphere or at that temperature but the only other rocky body with precipitation Titian has an atmosphere of methane.

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