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moralestapiayesterday at 8:26 PM4 repliesview on HN

Random question and memes-aside, is there oil on other planets?

Edit: GPT says hydrocarbons yes, oil as in Earth no (because that comes from complex living matter).

Edit 2: As far as we know, I really hope there's more life out there.


Replies

jemmywtoday at 12:11 AM

Titan:

> According to Cassini data, scientists announced on February 13, 2008, that Titan hosts within its polar lakes "hundreds of times more natural gas and other liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth." The desert sand dunes along the equator, while devoid of open liquid, nonetheless hold more organics than all of Earth's coal reserves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakes_and_rivers_of_Titan

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Brian_K_Whiteyesterday at 8:57 PM

I thought they discovered at least decades ago that our oil is actually largely inorganic? It's not dinosaurs & ferns but a direct chemical & physical process. I know a lot of people still say it's just a competing theory but they have found many large deposits in places where it's not possible for it to have been organic. (too deep, in the middle of pure granite with only raw volcanic material and no other organics, etc)

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csoursyesterday at 8:29 PM

Well, there are a lot of planets, and a lot of time.

So I would say yes.

On average though, I would say no.

augusto-mourayesterday at 8:34 PM

We can't be sure, but probably not on the solar system.