The search for habitable environments in space has long been the topic of science fiction and myth. New research points toward how underground oceans on exoplanets could help significantly boost the chances of discovering habitable environments.
Chances of Life in Space
According to Space, a new discovery has significantly increased the chances of finding life in space. This comes as a new analysis of exoplanets suggests that there could be liquid water, one of the essentials of life.
The analysis points toward how the universe could have more habitable planets than previously believed. This would mean greater chances of worlds having habitable environments for extraterrestrial species despite having icy shells.
Lujendra Ojha, the research leader from Rutgers University, shared how important water was to life and that their work reveals that some places previously thought not to have water could actually contain them. This meant increased chances of discovering places where there could be theoretical life development.
Space reports that Ojha, along with teammates, discovered that it was possible for exoplanets with frozen surfaces to contain water still. Specifically, subsurface oceans of liquid water could be hidden behind their surfaces.
Why This Matters
Ojha reports that the research shows that humanity is actually 100x more likely to be able to find liquid water than previously thought. This came from the research's new model, which showed that should conditions align, there could be one rocky planet in every 100 stars that could contain liquid water.
It was revealed that the researchers also looked into planets located in similar conditions as the Earth. This meant observing planets around red dwarfs, smaller and cooler than the sun.
Cosmos Swinburne explains that Red Dwarfs are small and low-surface temperature stars. Their temperature sits at around 2500-4000 K, and they're often tenths the size of the Sun.
Space reports that the team also looked at M-dwarfs, which had stars that possessed conditions similar to Earth, like rocky environments. M-dwarfs are known to make 70% of the Milky Way's stars.
Ojha explained how lucky Earth was because how the atmosphere contained the perfect amount of greenhouse gases, making it easier for liquid water to remain stable on the surface. Without sufficient greenhouse gases, the Earth would have a temperature of minus 0.4° F with mostly frozen surface water.
Earth's Liquid Water
Ojha explained how the Earth's core radioactivity sent up enough heat to keep water warm and liquid. This was happening even in places with extreme temperatures like Antarctica, where there remain many underground lakes filled with liquid water.
The researchers also pointed out how there could also be enough heating from radioactivity happening near Mars' south pole. Futurism reports how scientists discovered radioactive elements like thorium and uranium on Mars.
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