>
>Keith Knapp wrote to Mark Bloss about Back to Apes
 KK> Except that the surface temp is high enough to melt lead.  Water is
 KK> necessary.  And the willingness to wait a few hundred million years.
 KK> But Venus is of course well worth studying, if only because of the
 KK> snapshot it gives of an early period in Earth's formation.
 
 MB> eyes - and the only place in the Universe that is handy right now is
 MB> Venus, because Venus is very nearly the same as the primordial Earth,
 MB> Mars isn't.  Europa isn't.  Titan isn't.  Only Venus is close.
 KK> But they may have life on them and it's a safe bet that Venus doesn't.
 In all, you and I agree more than disagree.  So I will leave off 
 any contrary points of view.  Except, temperatures high enough to melt
 lead, on the surface - leaves much underground.  That is, temperatures
 underground on Venus, in places, may be a good deal lower - if cooled
 by cold liquid sources, lack of sunlight penetration, even water may
 be present in large quantities underground - especially near the polar
 regions.  Not to mention high atmosphere temperatures which are a good
 deal lower.  On earth, there is a vast temperate variation, from the
 deep seas to the high mountains, to the upper atmosphere, polar regions,
 and equatorial regions.  There is no reason to think Venus is really
 different in that respect.  Now the question remains, however, can
 life of some sort sustain itself in a high pressure and high temperature
 environment.  Certainly not life as we know it here on Earth, but that
 does not eliminate the possibilities.  In fact, life is so persistent
 on this planet, it would not surprise me if life is just as persistent
 elsewhere - having adapted to its local environment.  The question is,
 can a bacteria, or other single-cell organism be adapted to temperatures
 hot enough to melt lead?  I think the possibility is real that there
 is a bacteria "custom made" for Venus, right now.  And it may even be
 thriving there.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MB>... I wouldn't send a knight out on a dog like this.
 MB>--- GEcho 1.11++TAG 2.7c
 MB>  ! Origin: Cybercosm            Nashville          615-831-3774 
(1:116/180)
 
 
 MB>
 KK> * SLMR 2.1a * .      You can't learn what you think you already know.
 KK> -!- PCBoard (R) v15.4/M 5 Beta
 KK>  ! Origin: * Binary illusions BBS * Albuquerque, NM * 505.897.8282 *
 KK> (1:301/45)
... I wouldn't send a knight out on a dog like this.
--- GEcho 1.11++TAG 2.7c
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