Pluto, Jupiter’s Europa And Mercury: Alien Life On These Incredibly Mysterious Planets?
Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto are three planets that have puzzled astronomers and alien life hunters for decades. And this is because there has been little information gathered about them, given their distance from Earth and technological limitations. That said, the three planets have recently been found to have properties that can sustain life.
And this brings us to the question – could there be alien life on these three planets, perhaps using some sophisticated adaptive mechanisms to survive? Well, the following information released by NASA and scientists may offer answers to the puzzle.
Starting with Pluto, which was discovered in 1930, it is the smallest in our solar system and is said to be about half the size of the United States in width, taking about 248 Earth years to go round the Sun. That said, it holds a key element that supports life, and that is water. However, it does have some unique atmospheric conditions that may make it hard for typical mammals to survive, but some anaerobic organisms to thrive.
On the main gases in its atmosphere, they are methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Pluto’s surface is also covered in ice with temperatures hitting minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit when the dwarf planet is farthest from the sun. These temperatures are low enough to freeze the aforementioned gases making it hard for life to exist. However, according to physicist Brian Cox, there could be life far beneath Pluto’s surface. The following was his statement in regards to this.
“There may well be a subsurface ocean on Pluto, which means — if our understanding of life on Earth is even slightly correct — that you could have living things there,”
This is as reported by the Mirror. Considering the extreme temperatures on Pluto, it would not be the ideal planet for aliens to inhabit. Jupiter’s moon Europa was recently observed to have the potential to hold life. Apparently, the planet has a huge ocean as well as surface water. The following was the statement issued by NASA regarding this.
“Europa’s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa’s subsurface.”
“Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth’s oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness.”
A new @NASA study suggests Europa could have necessary balance of chemical energy for life. https://t.co/hCGejLgkvK pic.twitter.com/7fRu05trvN
— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) May 17, 2016
As such, Jupiter’s Europa could harbor alien life. On to Mercury, the planet is said to have “at least 100 billion tons of water ice.” The following is an excerpt of NASA’s report on the planet, highlighting its potential to hold life.
“Data from MESSENGER’s scientific instruments have provided a trove of scientific discoveries… In 1991, astronomers on Earth using radar observations showed that Mercury may have water ice at its north and south poles inside deep craters. MESSENGER observations have shown that the materials identified by radar are present only in regions of permanent shadow, consistent with the idea that they are cold enough to preserve water ice, despite the extreme high temperatures experienced by sunlit parts of the planet.”
The planets Pluto, Mercury and Jupiter’s Europa have been reported by conspiracy theorists to have alien life. Supposedly, artificial structures on their surfaces have been highlighted as key indicators of their existence. However, the pieces of evidence put forward are not conclusive, as the planets are farther away from ours than, let’s say Mars, which makes them harder to examine or send instruments for a closer look.
[Featured Image by Igor Zhuravlov/iStock]
