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But Mars also has an atmosphere (although thin) of CO2 exposed to cosmic rays, no? So we could determine if there is some sort of CO2->methane cycle by seeing i
by opportune 7y ago
But Mars also has an atmosphere (although thin) of CO2 exposed to cosmic rays, no? So we could determine if there is some sort of CO2->methane cycle by seeing if there is any appreciable amount of C14 in the methane we find on Mars?
Apologies if that's a stupid question, I'm out of my element here
- tlb 7y agoC14 is actually produced from cosmic rays hitting nitrogen, not carbon. The impact turns a proton into a neutron. Both CO2 and CH4, once the chemical bond is made, only decrease in C14 fraction as it spontaneously decays. Astronomers are pretty good at deducing things from the few, imprecise measurements they can make from millions of miles away, so you should never rule out them being able to figure out something. But it'll depend on a lot of assumptions.
- emmelaich 7y ago> I'm out of my element here Nice