Talk:Extraterrestrial liquid water

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[edit] Why this page?

More worlds beyond the solar system are being found all the time. Also more data about water on Mars and hydrocarbon lakes on Titan, etc.

I found a section on extraterrestrial water in both Ocean and Sea, and added to the one on 'Ocean'. But there is scope for more details, in a way that would overbalance those pages. This is the place for it, and I hope that others will be adding to it.--GwydionM 15:49, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What about Science Fiction?

If someone wants to do a page for Oceans Beyond Earth (fictional), fine. I'd sooner it was kept separate from this page, which is intended for solid science.--GwydionM 15:49, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The best name

The backbone of this page is a section called Extraterrestrial oceans from Oceans. I changed the name, because I always try to use an Anglo-Saxon word or pair of words rather than imports from Latin. Does that make sense to people?--GwydionM 17:01, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

I think it would be better as Extraterrestrial oceans. ("Oceans Beyond Earth" doesn't sound right, and at the very least would have to be changed to "Oceans beyond Earth" to meet Wiki guidelines.) Thoughts? --Ckatzchatspy 19:09, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
You're right, it should be beyond rather than Beyond.--GwydionM 20:03, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
I've taken the liberty to move this article to 'Extraterrestrial oceans', a far more encyclopedic title than its predecessor; I've also edited the lead to reflect the move. Quizimodo 23:20, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why "oceans" only?

This article's scope should be expanded to clearly cover bodies of water on a lesser scale than "oceans", including underground liquid water reserves (as may exist on Mars), as well as liquid bodies of hydrocarbons (as appear to exist on Titan). I suggest Extraterrestrial liquid water and hydrocarbons.--Pharos 07:37, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

I don't see the advantage. Mars and Titan are included because Mars probably did have oceans once and Titan may have them now. --GwydionM 16:37, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
The advantage is (1) there is no scientific definition of "ocean" in an extraterrestrial context (the bodies of liquid on Titan, for example, are only the size of lakes), (2) the important thing is the very existence of liquid water, not whether it is in ocean-sized bodies and (3) there is no other article to comprehensively document this information. Of course, the article should still have a section to discuss theories specific to ocean-sized bodies of water.--Pharos 20:29, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
I agree. What about Estraterrestrial liquid water? Waldir 18:37, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, but I had hoped to retain information on Titan's liquid hydrocarbon lakes here as well.--Pharos 04:05, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
Omg, sorry, Pharos, I have no idea how I could not read your name suggestion =P I thought the same thing, as you can see :) I'd prefer keeping the article on water alone, but I dont mind having other (eventual) life-supporting oceans too, I guess. But the title gets a little ugly... :\ Waldir 22:11, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
Because, as explained above, this would not cover very important topics like the possibility of liquid water seeping through the Martian subsoil a few meters down. Also, we should be using "scientific" terms (i.e. extraterrestrial rather than beyond Earth)--Pharos 20:59, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
If one must change, why not Oceans and seas beyond Earth. Even Oceans, lakes and seas beyond Earth. But so far, there is nothing definite enough to create a need.--GwydionM 17:31, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes: proposals for a new title are getting 'ugly' and seem unencyclopedic. I believe the current title should remain as is; if it must change, something like 'Extraterrestrial oceans and liquid bodies', 'Extraterrestrial oceans, seas, and lakes', or similar. One definition for 'ocean' is 'a very large or unlimited space or quantity', so (in a narrower sense) it also applies to liquid bodies -- water or otherwise -- on extraterrestrial bodies. Quizimodo 20:44, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
OK, plain Extraterrestrial liquid water is good for me I suppose. I had just wanted a place on Wikipedia where we could discuss liquid hydrocarbons other than the Titan (moon) article, but I suppose we can get to that later; anyway there's no reason we can't give it an ancillary mention in this article. I would rather avoid terms like "oceans", "seas", and "lakes", as these would not cover very important topics like the possibility of liquid water seeping through the Martian subsoil a few meters down. Also, we should be using "scientific" terms (i.e. extraterrestrial rather than beyond Earth)--Pharos 20:59, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
Agreed. Waldir 16:05, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] newbie question

Hey guys, I'm just a newbie in this subject, so my question might be stupid: I found this, saying that salty water could exist in Mars' current environment. I almost bet that this info's obsolete, otherwise it'd be already in this article, but I just wanted to make sure. In any case, since it's currently the first result in google for water in other planets, I think it deserves a mention here, with an explanation of the refutal of the hypothesis. What do you think? --Waldir 10:26, 29 October 2007 (UTC)