Astrophysics (Index)About

methane

(CH4)
(compound of one carbon and 4 hydrogen atoms)

Methane (CH4) is a compound with molecules each consisting of one carbon and four hydrogens atoms. It is produced by biological processes on Earth, and is generally unstable, thus constituting a biosignature. It can be generated abiotically, but its observed presence suggests some long-lasting process is generating it. It is observed on some solar system moons. It has been detected on Mars (making subsurface life plausible but abiotic sources are as well: e.g., a reaction of water with olivine in rocks), but presents a mystery regarding the varying amounts detected: both whether the detections are correct, and if so, how to account for the drastic changes in amount detected: the obvious means of Mars losing its methane require hundreds of years and wouldn't result in the majority of it disappearing within a year, which is what observations indicated.

If a methane molecule contains a deuterium atom, in which case the molecule can be referred to as deuterated methane or CH3D, then methods of tracing isotopes (e.g., detecting the differences in spectra and mass) can be used to detect details of chemical reactions. This has been done using spectrography of Titan's atmosphere with Keck Observatory.


(compound,hydrogen,carbon,chemistry)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane
https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=74-82-8
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022PNAS..11917933T/abstract
https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1405-33222015000300002

Referenced by pages:
bathymetry
biosignature
brown dwarf (BD)
clathrate
comet
cryovolcano
giant planet
humidity
hydrocarbon (HC)
hydrology
ice
neutron scattering
snow line
T-type star (T)
Titan
Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)
volatile material

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