Lets talk about chirality. And what those asteroid samples could teach us.
Chirality is the "handedness" of molecules. This is a big deal in #astrobiology
If you have a central atom of a tetrahedron and four different things poking out of it, there are two possible orientations.
(Try this with colored gumdrops. Geologists may get to lick rocks, but chemists get to eat their gumdrop models.)
Alien Life on Jupiter, #spaceart by David A. Hardy
A number of scientists and SF writers, including Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke and Ben Bova have postulated #life among the clouds of gas-giant #planets like #Jupiter, floating between the cold upper layers and areas where internal heating creates updrafts of organic materials. Here we see grazing 'floaters' and manta-like #predators
Two prize postdoctoral fellowships, one focused on astrobiology and the other
focused on technosignatures, are taking applications for 2+1 year positions with
the SETI Institute.
The application window closes in March for both positions!
"A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander collects samples and analyses them for hints of life."
New result from the Cassini spacecraft Cosmic Dust Analyzer
Evidence of phosphates in the subsurface ocean of Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, confirms that the water is alkaline. The finding provides clues about the geochemistry and origin of this moon and its ability to support life.