NASA has found 17 planets that it believes may have secret oceans hidden beneath the surface, making these planets prime candidates for alien life.
According to the space agency, the 17 exoplanets – that is, planets outside our solar system – all have icy shells that can hide flowing water, he writes. Indy100.
the Astrophysical Journal A study recently published in the journal shows how researchers analyzed the planets.
“We estimated the extent of internal warming and the depth of the potential subsurface oceans for 17 planets that could be cold ocean planets. These are low-mass exoplanets with a surface temperature and/or density consistent with an icy surface and a large water content.
“Like the icy moons in our outer solar system, cold-ocean planets may also be important from an astrobiology standpoint, as they hide habitable environments beneath their icy surfaces.”
Of course, a planet doesn't have to contain alien life just because it has water
The presence of alien life forms can also be determined by how far a planet is from the star it orbits, as well as atmospheric conditions.
However, the possibility of water means that planets are among the most promising places we know of to start looking for signs of life.
One of the main differences between all the exoplanets studied and Earth is that they are much cooler than our planet.
Their orbiting host stars do not emit as much heat as our Sun, and the planets are thought to receive internal heat instead.
According to Lenny Quick of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, “Our analysis suggests that these 17 planets may have ice-covered surfaces, but receive enough heat from the decay of radioactive elements and tidal forces from their parent stars to support interior oceans.”
However, the planets may fall off the public's radar for a while if nothing happens. But if they have enough volcanic activity and some water, we might hear a lot about these distant worlds for years to come.
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