17 Worlds Outside Our Solar System May Have Life's "Essential Ingredient"
NDTV
These icy worlds, including two that are near our solar system, might have conditions capable of supporting life.
A recent NASA study looking for life beyond the solar system has discovered 17 exoplanets that could have oceans of liquid water beneath icy shells. The search for life usually involves finding exoplanets that exist within their host star's "habitable zone," a distance where temperatures allow liquid water to persist on their surfaces. However, it's possible for an exoplanet that's too distant and cold to still have an ocean underneath an ice crust if it has enough internal heating. For the first time, @NASAExoplanets science teams have estimated that 17 worlds outside our solar system could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Dive in: https://t.co/8wIm2qhUDEpic.twitter.com/OP7eXhrz6E
As per Space.com, these worlds, much like the icy moons of Jupiter, could therefore be promising places to search for chemical signs of life. Notably, Jupiter's Moon Europa and Saturn's Enceladus do not receive sufficient sunlight but still have liquid oceans beneath their icy crust.
