"A biosignature detection would transform our understanding of life in the universe."Extreme Conditions
A team of scientists has identified a new class of exoplanets and, despite their drastic differences from our home here on Earth, the researchers say they could be great candidates in the search for extraterrestrial life.
These so-called Hycean planets are known for their high temperatures, ocean-covered surfaces, and hydrogen-rich atmospheres. That means they harbor more extreme conditions than Earth, but the University of Cambridge scientists behind a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal say that Hycean oceans could still theoretically support the same sorts of microbial life that live in Earths oceans.
Hycean planets open a whole new avenue in our search for life elsewhere, lead study author and Cambridge astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan said in a press release.
For the most part, the search for habitable exoplanets has focused on finding as Earth-like of a world as possible, for the simple reason that Earth is the only place weve ever found signs of life. As a result, Hycean planets have been overlooked because they have up to a 2.6 times larger radius and are 10 times more massive than Earth and temperatures can hit 200 degrees Celsius. Thats bad news for anyone searching for a second home for humanity to inhabit, but not the end of the world for extremophile aliens.
Its exciting that habitable conditions could exist on planets so different from Earth, study coauthor Anjali Piette said in the release.
For now, this is theoretical work theres no indication that life actually exists on any Hycean worlds. But because the exoplanet class vastly outnumbers other candidates for habitable worlds, scientists may now have a better chance of finding something out there.
A biosignature detection would transform our understanding of life in the universe, Madhusudhan said. We need to be open about where we expect to find life and what form that life could take, as nature continues to surprise us in often unimaginable ways.
READ MORE: New class of habitable exoplanets represent a big step forward in the search for life [University of Cambridge]
More on habitable exoplanets: Astronomers Discover Intriguing, Extremely Earth-Like Exoplanet
Read the original post:
Scientists: Life May Thrive on Ocean Worlds Far Larger Than Earth - Futurism
- Scotlandville uses big plays on special teams to topple East Ascension - The Advocate - September 10th, 2021 [September 10th, 2021]
- Japan declares state of emergency, Olympics still on but without fans in Tokyo - Yahoo Sports - July 14th, 2021 [July 14th, 2021]
- US Congressman Calls for Law Allowing Government to Reverse Cryptocurrency Transactions Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News - July 2nd, 2021 [July 2nd, 2021]
- A grave injustice in Elizabeth City | The Progressive Pulse - The Progressive Pulse - May 20th, 2021 [May 20th, 2021]
- Covid-19 and Europe - The Statesman - April 19th, 2021 [April 19th, 2021]
- Chillicothe business, school developed virtual reality classrooms in response to COVID-19 - Chillicothe Gazette - March 21st, 2021 [March 21st, 2021]
- 'Not quite ready yet': Democrats wont take up Biden immigration plan this month - POLITICO - March 9th, 2021 [March 9th, 2021]
- The best technology, driven by the best people. - Verizon Communications - March 7th, 2021 [March 7th, 2021]
- World of Wong Kar-Wai at The Cinematheque - Scout Magazine - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Seeds from Taiwan plant species launched to space station - Taiwan News - December 8th, 2020 [December 8th, 2020]
- Pathologic 2 Is a Fascinating Experiment in Method Role-Playing - The Escapist - November 10th, 2020 [November 10th, 2020]
- Science-fiction master Ted Chiang explores the rights and wrongs of AI - GeekWire - November 10th, 2020 [November 10th, 2020]
- Problem gambling and crime appear co-symptomatic, not causal - UB News Center - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- An In-Depth Guide to the Microphones - bandcamp.com - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- SpaceX: Crew Dragon is returning to Earth here's when to hold your - Astronomy Magazine - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- Caribbean Observes 186th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery - caribbeannationalweekly.com - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- CORRECTING and REPLACING Jeff Robinson, CEO of Wuhan, Provides Key Updates and Outlook in a New Audio Interview with SmallCapVoice.com -... - May 22nd, 2020 [May 22nd, 2020]
- Scientists concerned that coronavirus is adapting to humans - msnNOW - May 12th, 2020 [May 12th, 2020]
- Gaming companies are looking like a coronavirus-proof investment. Here are the stocks to play, top fund managers say - MarketWatch - April 27th, 2020 [April 27th, 2020]
- The Only Two Podcasts You Need To Get Through A Dull Day - Eagle Online - April 24th, 2020 [April 24th, 2020]
- Grandparents rely on drive-bys, technology to stay in touch - Journal Review - April 23rd, 2020 [April 23rd, 2020]
- List of sports events affected by the coronavirus pandemic - Odessa American - April 16th, 2020 [April 16th, 2020]
- Prime 10 Should-Watch Mafia Anime Of All Time & The place To Watch Them! - Global News Hut - April 15th, 2020 [April 15th, 2020]
- Don't let free speech be a casualty of coronavirus. We need it more than ever - The Guardian - April 9th, 2020 [April 9th, 2020]
- Your Island home - The West Australian - April 6th, 2020 [April 6th, 2020]
- Turtle Bay,Liberty laying down kind of strange&being tossed around in the wind,2/16/14 - Video - February 17th, 2014 [February 17th, 2014]
- Liberty Bell Bank Reports Third Quarter and Year to Date Earnings - November 16th, 2012 [November 16th, 2012]
- 18th Int Congress of Genetics Statement on Eugenics - May 23rd, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- IQ Will put you in Your Place - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Special Review - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- More on the Bell Curve - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Mismeasures of Gould - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- How Can We Encourage Bright Young Couples To Have More Children? - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Why Race Matters: A Review and Extension - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Consequences of Variable Intelligence - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Human Situation and its Reparation - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Professor Shockley's Experiment - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- A Review of "A New Morality from Science: Beyondism" - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Race and Crime: A Reply to Cernovsky and Litman - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- How Relevant is the Nature/Nurture Controversy to the Need for Eugenics ? - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Race, Evolution, and Behavior Summary - by Mark Snyderman - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Race, Evolution, and Behavior Summary - by Glayde Whitney - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Virtue in "Racism" ? - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Reality of Race A Summary of John R Bakers book Race - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Does Race Matter Recent Developments - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Race Differences in Intelligence a Global Perspective - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- On the biological meaning of race - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Race, Genetics, and Human Reproductive Strategies - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- “Yes, There is Such a Thing as Race” By John Alexander - May 19th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Questions and Answers on Eugenics - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Evolutionary Function of Prejudice - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Caring for Posterity - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- The Limited Plasticity of Human Intelligence - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Paternal Provisioning versus Mate Seeking in Human Populations - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Conway Zirkle and the Persistence of Marxian Biology in the Western Social Sciences - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Racial differences in Intelligence - What Mainstream Science says - May 11th, 2012 [December 8th, 2011]
- Whither Judaism and the West - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Indoctrination and Group Evolutionary Strategies The Case of Judaism - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Studies of Jewish Genetics and the Racial Double Standard Is There a Hidden Agenda - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Kings of Men a Special Issue of the journal INTELLIGENCE about Arthur Jensen - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Neo Lynsekoism IQ and the Press - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Invisible Men - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- The Evolution of Australian and Amerindian Intelligence - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Intelligence and Social Policy A special issue of the Multidisciplinary journal INTELLIGENCE - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Raymond B Cattell and the Fourth Inquisition - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Thalamic Inhibition in the Evolution of Human Intelligence: Evolutionary Pressure for Cortical Inhibition - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- The Role of Inheritance in Behavior - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- A Substantial Inheritance - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- The Errors and Omissions of the Revised Edition of Goulds The Mismeasure of Man - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Reflections on Stephen Jay Goulds The Mismeasure of Man - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- A Critique of Gould by Jensen - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- The G Factor - The Book and the Controversy - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Geographical Centrality as an Explanation for Racial Differences in Intelligence - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Evolution Altruism and Genetic Similarity Theory - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Tracing the Genetic History of Modern Man - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Foreword to David Dukes book - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Whatever Happened to Eugenics - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- The New Enemies of Evolutionary Science - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Dysgenics Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations A Review - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]
- Unwanted Births and Dysgenic Reproduction in The United States - May 11th, 2012 [December 7th, 2011]