Chances of finding extraterrestrial life increased: scientists made an important discovery about other planets

Scientists from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, have found in a new study that many exoplanets in space have oceans of liquid water underground. At least the chances of this are much higher than previously thought. This means that there are many planets with potential extraterrestrial life, especially if those planets are covered with an icy crust, Space said.

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According to the study’s authors, beneath the many planets with an icy surface in the universe there may be oceans of liquid water where extraterrestrial life could theoretically arise.

Whereas previous models showed that for every 100 stars in space, there is one rocky planet (like Earth) with liquid water, the new model shows that under certain conditions there can be such a planet in any star system. For example, there are about 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone, which means that extraterrestrial life is much more likely to emerge somewhere.

Scientists conducted a new study on icy exoplanets orbiting red dwarf stars. The most rocky planets have ever been discovered near these stars, and about 70% of the stars in our galaxy are red dwarfs.

According to scientists, there are two ways to heat such rocky planets such that they have oceans of liquid water under their surface.

• The first way is the release of heat, due to internal processes deep within the planets, which can keep water in a liquid state underneath even in the presence of an ice crust. For example, on Earth, a few billion years ago, the water on the surface actually froze, but remained liquid in the bowels of the planet. Even now you can find underground lakes in Antarctica, although everything around is covered with ice. New simulations have shown that the likelihood of such planets existence is much higher than previously thought.
• The second way planets warm up is by the gravitational effect of a larger planet or other massive object. For example, this can be seen in our solar system. Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa likely have underground oceans of liquid water under the ice crust. This is possible due to the gravitational influence of their home planet. And astrobiologists believe it’s worth looking for extraterrestrial life here.

That is why scientists believe that the conditions for the emergence and development of life on the millions, and perhaps even billions of planets in our galaxy alone, are very likely to exist. Now all that remains is to find life on them, not just these planets themselves. But most likely, telescopes of the next generation will help in this.

Focus He wrote about a recent study of Saturn that suggested the planet rains gems.

We also remember that astronomers discovered the first planet with the greatest reflectivity outside the solar system. That is, due to the strong reflection of the light of its star, as I wrote earlier, it is the brightest of all known exoplanets. Focus.