Cassini Huygens and Titan

[Pushkin]

I was wondering how and why it was decided the surface of Titan would be a good approximation of the surface of Earth before life developed.

And are there any books or other sources that could explain to me, a lay man, how life started on Earth in the first place

[CynicalGabe]

The current issue of Popular Science has an article in which:

@PopSci

Enhance your LOVE LIFE naturally, safely and permanently, EXTRA contains a clinical strength formula that pumps up your body’s hormones to stimulate growth and development. When taken…

Oops, sorry, quoted wrong page.

Ahh, here it is:

@PopSci

In 1953 Stanley Miller and Harold Urey of the University of Chicago conducted a landmark investigation: They tossed together molecules thought to have been present in the Earth’s early atmosphere - methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water vapor - and arced a spark of electricity through them to stimulate lightning. In a week, amino acids, the building blocks of proteins - and thus life - appeared. It was evidence that haphazard chemical reactions could lead to living things.