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Humans produce two flammable gases: hydrogen and methane. Flammable gases accumulate in an enclosed space and can ignite. Astronauts are humans who spend lots of time in enclosed space. The logic is irrefutable. So, what's the risk to farting astronauts? More »
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Most climate change predictions have only examined the next hundred years. But now a new, even more long-term model suggests that temperatures could rise as much as ten degrees Celsius by 2300 — creating conditions not seen for 34 million years. More »
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Cows give off massive amounts of methane as a by-product of their grassy diet. Kangaroos do not, despite having the same diet. Scientists are looking at that difference and hoping to find a way to combine a cool earth with hamburgers. More »
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After almost twenty years of hunting for telltale clues, we now know that the demoted planet Pluto has an atmosphere of small but still very deadly amounts of carbon monoxide gas which helps keep it at incredibly cold temperatures. More »
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We know that Saturn's moon Titan is home to everything from ice volcanoes to methane lakes to possibly even very simple forms of life. But its biggest secret is still hidden from sight: a giant subterranean ocean, possibly of water. More »
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A new study demonstrates how high hydrocarbons could be formed from methane deep within the Earth, aside from the compression and heating of ancient animal remains over the eons. More »
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All the methane that erupted in the Deepwater Horizon disaster has disappeared. What happened to it? One theory says it was eaten. More »
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Not only are trees in the northern hemisphere making it more difficult for us to generate energy from wind power, but plants down south are releasing methane gas into the atmosphere. Have plants got an anti-green agenda? More »
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A Neptune-sized exoplanet thirty-three light-years away is defying all our expectations of what planetary atmospheres should look like. The planet has 7,000 times less methane gas than expected, but it's rich in carbon monoxides...and we have no idea why. More »
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When humans migrated to the Americas roughly 13 thousand years ago, they hunted megafauna like mammoths to extinction. The result? Scientists say that without giant animal farts, there was a massive depletion in atmospheric methane, possibly causing an ice age. More »
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Are signs of life on Mars floating in the atmosphere? Scientists have been searching for the source of methane on Mars, and their search has put them on the hunt for methane-producing microorganisms. More »
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The case for life on Mars just got a lot more persuasive. Last week NASA scientists announced the discovery of methane gas on the red planet, which might be created by subterranean life forms. More »
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Astronomers have detected organic compounds — but not life — on a planet outside our solar system for the first time. The Jupiter-sized HD189733b, 63 light years away, has methane as well as water vapor, despite its proximity to its sun and atmospheric temperatures of 700 degrees Celsius. There's no way a planet that hot can support life (we think), but then again, you shouldn't be able to find methane at those temperatures either. In any case, the discovery is another step towards being able to analyze the atmospheres of distant planets. Image by Christophe Carreau/ESA. [New Scientist] More »
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