back to article Geoboffins baffled as Ceres is crawling with carbon organics

Ceres contains more carbon-based compounds - the chemical building blocks for life - than previously thought, according to a new study. Last year, scientists discovered that not only was Ceres’ surface peppered with patches of organic material, but that it is rich in water ice and its crust contains ice, salts and hydrated …

  1. Pen-y-gors

    It's life Jim, but not as we know it.

    Liquid water and carbon are both considered essential ingredients for the creation of life as we understand it

    FTFY

    There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

    1. Rocketist
      Alien

      Re: It's life Jim, but not as we know it.

      Or the unburied remains of the poor aliens who made that crater when they crashed into Ceres. On their way home from here probably.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's life Jim, but not as we know it.

      Also: "a sign that [an?] it may have harbored an ancient ocean in its past."

      Doesn't really sound plausible, notwithstanding JPL/NASA's speculations, nor its relatively high density; at just ~960 km (~600 miles) diameter Ceres' gravity is just 0.029 g (0.28 m/s2) and with no protection from radiation whatsoever (Ceres has had no magnetosphere) any liquid water on the surface would have been disassociated rather quickly.

    3. Denarius
      Facepalm

      Re: It's life Jim, but not as we know it.

      null examples are not an argument. Only carbon based life is known, Sample size of 1. Look up the number of compounds carbon can make versus _any_ other element. Oder of magnitude difference. I wont even start on the huge gap between simple carbon compounds and the simplest protein.

  2. jake Silver badge

    Endolithic crustose lichen?

    The pattern is somewhat suggestive ... if a hair on the large side.

    1. Swarthy
      Alien

      Re: Endolithic crustose lichen?

      I was thinking it looked more like a false-color image of a hotel room wall bathed in black-light.

      But, you know, your suggestion is much less disturbing.

  3. Blockchain commentard

    It's alive. Alive I tell you.Mwhahaha. Cue lightning.

  4. RGE_Master

    FINALLY, Venom is on his way!

  5. hplasm
    Alien

    Don't panic!

    It's just where the Teasers empty their septic tanks...

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Aliens?

    No, just a misfiring inkjet nozzle.

  7. Crisp

    Can we not send a robot with a shovel and a drill?

    We got really good results from Mars doing that.

  8. Wellyboot Silver badge

    Return Samples?!

    >>Ceres will likely require future missions that can analyze or return samples.<<

    Mission to analyze yes ASAP - Possibly a massive impact on Drake calculations.

    I'm not too keen on the 'return' part if this does turn out to be even close to biological in nature. Setting up Ceres as a quarantined zone and running a very very long term study in situ into these compounds interaction with earth biology would be the next step, robots on Ceres, people in orbiting station, no return traffic from Ceres.

    And can we look for these same organics using the bio-lab on Curiosity?

    1. getHandle

      Re: Return Samples?!

      Calm down dear! Sheesh - people already think we've found life on Mars due to piss poor tabloid headlines...

    2. Chris G

      Re: Return Samples?!

      Don't worry!

      It's a million to one chance that anything infectious could come back..............

      1. eldakka

        Re: Return Samples?!

        ....one in a million chances occur 9 times out of 10.

  9. n13ldo

    Looks a bit like 'The Shimmer' (Annihilation)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That's no moon ....

  11. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    Gratuitous Aliens quote...

    Ripley : So what's laying the eggs?

    Bishop : I'm not sure. Perhaps it's something we've not seen yet.

    On the other hand, just take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Mushroom

      Re: Gratuitous Aliens quote...

      The only way to be really sure is to nuke the site before you take off. That's the only way to ensure we don't contaminate any other worlds in the universe.

      1. eldakka

        Re: Gratuitous Aliens quote...

        Nah, just nuke it from deep space as a preemptive measure and never land on it at all.

        1. TRT Silver badge

          Re: Nuke it from deep space...

          Sgt Pinback calling bomb number 20. Are you receiving me bomb? Over.

  12. 89724102372714531892324I9755670349743096734346773478647852349863592355648544996313855148583659264921

    Uranus seeded or unseeded?

  13. Winkypop Silver badge
    Windows

    I blame

    Fly tippers

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: I blame

      Note to my fellow Yanks: "Fly tipping" isn't a small-scale variation on cow tipping, rather it's what we call illegal dumping.

  14. This post has been deleted by its author

  15. IT Poser

    There is a definitive reason Ceres Organic Chemicals is targeting Ceres.

    Scoff all you want, the remaining microbes on Ceres will lead to unexpected profits. I need $500 million to test my 5 tonne lander bringing back Lunar samples, then it's on. It being research on every hunk of rock with equal or lower gravity than Ceres, meaning almost everywhere humans can go with current technology, including Psyche 16.

  16. MT Field

    You know what would be really amazing - if Ceres turned out to be much older than we previously thought, older than the sun, older than the solar system.

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