On the apostrophe theme...

[c9]

"Scientists believe Mars's and Jupiter's icy moons might have – or have once had – conditions hospitable to life." --Globe & Mail

I know it's fine, it just looks ugly. Mars'!

Comments

[bartok.livejournal.com]

that can't make sense. There's no way a moon of Mars could have had atmospheres, they're too small.

[c9.livejournal.com]

That was exactly my first response to the article!

[primary-suspect.livejournal.com]

But why do you need an atmosphere to sustain life? It might not have been oxygen breathing like ourselves. It might have been simple bacteria or other organisms that didn't live the same way we do.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, there's always the possibility of unfamiliar life, I'm not disputing that. But Phobos and Deimos have almost no gravity, no atmosphere to retain loquid or gaseous water in the area. My issue was that someone probably said "Mars or Jupiter's moons" and the reporter converted it to "Mars's or Jupiter's moons".