KOMPAS.com – A new study conducted by NASA reveals that 17 exoplanets located outside the solar system could potentially harbor oceans of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces.
This discovery has major implications for experts’ understanding of the possibility of life beyond Earth.
The research team has calculated geyser activity on this exoplanet, which is the first estimate that offers a new method for observing signs of life on distant worlds.
Interestingly, two of these exoplanets are close enough to allow telescopic observations.
Exoplanets, oceans and “habitable zones”
Traditionally, the search for life beyond Earth has focused on planets in the “habitable zone.” This zone is defined by the range of distances where liquid water exists on the planet’s surface.
Also read: What is the Largest Planet Ever Discovered?
However, this research shows that life could also exist on planets outside this zone, if the planet has an ocean under the ice layer, the inside of which is heating up.
Lynnae Quick of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the study’s principal investigator explained that this analysis estimates that the 17 exoplanets may have ice-covered surfaces, but receive enough internal heating from the decay of radioactive elements and tidal forces to maintain an inner ocean.
This internal heating can also result in cryovolcanic eruptions, which are similar to geysers.
Quick added, thanks to the amount of internal heating obtained, all the planets in this study can also show cryovolcanic eruptions in the form of geyser-like plumes.
Estimated conditions on exoplanets
The research team recalculated the estimated surface temperature of each exoplanet, using the known surface brightness and other properties of Europa and Enceladus as a model.
Also read: Does the Planet Jupiter Have a Solid Surface?
Researchers calculated the total internal heating of these exoplanets by analyzing the shape of their orbits to determine tidal heat generation and adding estimates of heat from radioactive activity.
These surface temperature and total heating calculations determine the thickness of the ice layer on each exoplanet as the underlying ocean cools and freezes at the surface while receiving heat from within.
The team then compared this data with the characteristics of Europa, using Europa’s geyser activity as a conservative basis for estimating geyser activity on exoplanets.
Alien life in exoplanet sea geysers
Quick, who presented his research at the American Geophysical Union meeting, emphasized the potential for detecting geological activity on this exoplanet through its geyser activity.
When exoplanets such as Proxima Centauri b and LHS 1140 b pass in front of their stars, telescopes may observe water vapor dimming or blocking the star’s light.
Also read: The Size of Some Exoplanets Is Shrinking, What’s the Cause?
These sporadic detections of water vapor could indicate cryovolcanic eruptions, providing clues to the planet’s habitability.
For planets that do not cross their star from Earth’s perspective, advanced telescopes can detect geyser activity through light reflected from the exoplanet.
Such observations could reveal the composition of geysers, and further assess the potential of these distant worlds to support life.
In short, this NASA research not only opens up new avenues in the search for life beyond Earth, but also challenges experts’ understanding of the existence of life in the universe.
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2023-12-14 13:00:00
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