There's oil in them thar craters...

[miriam_e]

...well, hydrocarbons anyway... in the craters of Saturn's moon Hyperion

"Of special interest is the presence on Hyperion of hydrocarbons--combinations of carbon and hydrogen atoms that are found in comets, meteorites, and the dust in our galaxy," said Dale Cruikshank, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., and the paper's lead author. "These molecules, when embedded in ice and exposed to ultraviolet light, form new molecules of biological significance. This doesn't mean that we have found life, but it is a further indication that the basic chemistry needed for life is widespread in the universe.

"Most of Hyperion's surface ice is a mix of frozen water and organic dust, but carbon dioxide ice is also prominent. The carbon dioxide is not pure, but is somehow chemically attached to other molecules," explained Cruikshank. "We think that ordinary carbon dioxide will evaporate from Saturn's moons over long periods of time," said Cruikshank, "but it appears to be much more stable when it is attached to other molecules."

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=758
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=3303
http://ciclops.org//media/ir/2005/1509_3761_1.jpg (1MB -- 5569x2210 pixels)

It is an odd universe out there, even in this tiny, bizarre little corner.