Growing up, I used to call Mars the “Angry Planet,” due to the sharp resemblance between our neighboring planet and that of a reddened face of an angry cartoon character. It was for small reasons like this that I became obsessed with astronomy, learning about the planets and the latest incredible phenomenon.
Every day I would conduct research and discover that my knowledge of what is out there is so limited that it discouraged me! “When will I understand it all!” My parents tried to tell me that there will always be new things to discover in the Universe, but that is a lesson that I have yet to learn.
Everyday, more and more information comes my way, delighting my starved mind in ways that my stomach never felt with its food. Watching the History Channel, Discovery and the NASA Channel in hopes that something I have yet to hear would strike my ears. Then, one day, I got my wish!
Methane… on the Moon! These little rivers of light on the surface of the Moon, shifting here and there, never really staying in one place. The color matches the spectrum of methane, for sure, but how did it get there? This was the very mind candy I had been craving! So, I pulled out my notebook and my favorite “thinking pen” and jotted down some of my ideas before I started researching, just to see if I could piece it together.
We know the Moon was geologically active. We know that the Moon came from the Earth. We know the Earth has Methane under its surface from when the oceans were completely made of Methane. We know that the Moon has not had water on the surface. The Methane that came from under the Moon’s surface must have carried over from when it was taken from the Earth!”
Later I conducted some research and found that my answer was one of the most widely held possibilities!
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Now, in relation to Mars: We know that Mars has had water flow in the distant past. We know that the canals speak volumes as to how much water existed on the surface. We know that Mars has a thin atmosphere, creating an incredible visualization of what is on the surface, offering us no tangible proof that intelligent life exists there. We know that the Earth formed methane before it produced water. We know that Mars is right next door to us, suffering the same conditions while Earth was formed.
The only logical step would be to believe that this methane is coming from deep under the surface, just as the methane on the Earth is being released. Methane coming from another life form is very possible, but not probable. We know that Mars was a lot like Earth at one point. If this is true, then Mars would have methane deep under its surface, right along with a possible reservoir of fresh water, as well. And, who knows… the last remaining remnants of intelligent life may great us when we go to find out.
