The Methane Myth

As researchers search the skies for alien life on distant planets like we've seen in Star Trek, there have recently been some interesting findings that may or may not indicate life.

Artist concept Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith

The photo above is an image of a common meteor that can be found hurling through space. One thing researches look for to indicate life on a new planet is oxygen. Oxygen is too chemically reactive to remain for very long without organisms continually producing it. Another gas they look for is methane; a colorless, odorless gas that is produced by microbes on Earth. The "myth" about the methane researchers have recently discovered on distant planets lies within meteors like the one pictured above. These meteors contain the methane we are finding in the atmospheres of the newly discovered planets. When the meteor crashes into the surface of the planet, the methane contained within them gets released to the atmosphere and makes its way to our telescopes. This is fooling our astronomers into believing they've discovered new alien life! The discovery of this "meteor methane" has brought with it a string of sad astronomers that have been fooled by the methane myth. While there may still be life on these planets, we will have to figure out a different indication than the presence of methane in the atmosphere.

-Shane Giskaas