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Space

Weird crystals could grow on Titan and help alien life thrive

By John Wenz

13 March 2018

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Hazy Titan and little Dione pass in front of Saturn’s rings

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Peculiar crystals could be abundant on Saturn鈥檚 largest moon, Titan, potentially creating environments where microbes could live.

at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and her colleagues simulated Titan鈥檚 methane rain and ethane flooding, and found that a salt-like compound formed quickly and stuck around, even after being repeatedly washed over.

This suggests that the chemical slurry on the surface could create a 鈥渃o-crystal鈥. But rather than salt composed of sodium and chloride, these are formed by ammonia and acetylene.…

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