News From The Heavens: On Titan’s Tots and Taurus’ Teens

I just want to share a couple of exciting bits of news from Scientific Blogging.

One post announces the discovery of organic molecules in Titan’s atmosphere. Titan’s atmosphere resembles that which the early earth is thought to have had, and the molecules in question are the same sort created by humans in the lab, when trying to explore plausible scenarios for the emergence of life on earth.

The other post relates to evidence of some of the youngest solar systems yet detected. The number of extrasolar planets we’re aware of just keeps growing, but so does the diversity of types of solar systems detected.

This coincides nicely with the reading I assigned to the students in my class on religion and science for the next time it meets: any of the last four chapters in the collection Many Worlds, published by Templeton, which explores the possible theological implications of extraterrestrial life.