Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




EXO LIFE
Planets not like Earth could harbor life
by Staff Writers
Pasadena, Calif. (UPI) Sep 13, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Extreme forms of life could exist on eccentric planets outside the solar system with conditions unlike those on Earth, U.S. scientists say.

Extreme exoplanets, from scorching hot worlds with molten surfaces to frigid ice balls, could maintain some form of life even though they don't inhabit a star's so-called habitable or "Goldilocks" zone, they said.

"When we're talking about a habitable planet, we're talking about a world where liquid water can exist," said Stephen Kane, a scientist with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "A planet needs to be the right distance from its star -- not too hot and not too cold."

Not all exoplanets have Earth-like orbits that remain at a fairly constant distance from their stars.

Astronomers have identified many planets that travel in very oblong, eccentric orbits that vary greatly in distance from their stars.

"Planets like these may spend some, but not all of their time in the habitable zone," Kane said in a release from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "You might have a world that heats up for brief periods in between long, cold winters, or you might have brief spikes of very hot conditions."

While those conditions are very different from Earth's, this might not preclude them from being able to support alien life, Kane said.

"Scientists have found microscopic life forms on Earth that can survive all kinds of extreme conditions," he said. "Some organisms can basically drop their metabolism to zero to survive very long-lasting, cold conditions.

"We know that others can withstand very extreme heat conditions if they have a protective layer of rock or water. There have even been studies performed on Earth-based spores, bacteria and lichens, which show they can survive in both harsh environments on Earth and the extreme conditions of space."

The habitable zone around stars might be larger than once thought, the researchers said, and planets that might be hostile to human life might be the perfect place for other, more extreme forms of life.

"We may find some surprises out there as we start to determine exactly what we consider habitable," Kane said.

.


Related Links
Life Beyond Earth
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








EXO LIFE
Curious about Life: Interview with Danny Glavin
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Sep 13, 2012
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has 10 science instruments, and each will be used in the coming weeks and months to help characterize the environment of Mars and determine if the planet ever had the potential for life. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument is actually a combination of three individual instruments that will investigate the chemistry of the Martian surface. ... read more


EXO LIFE
Memorial service honors 'man on the moon' Armstrong

Chandrayaan II may be delayed, says ISRO Chief

First man on moon to be buried at sea: Armstrong family

Russian deputy PM proposes Moon station

EXO LIFE
Next Mars Mission Enters Final Phase Before Launch

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity's Arm Wields Camera Well

NASA Observations Point to 'Dry Ice' Snowfall on Mars

Mars rover Curiosity working 'flawlessly': NASA

EXO LIFE
Mankind's messenger at the final frontier

35 years on, Voyager 'dancing on edge' of outer space

Space-age food served up with seeds of success

Africa eyes joint space agency

EXO LIFE
Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

China unveils ambitious space projects

EXO LIFE
Luca Parmitano flying high

Astronauts Take Second Spacewalk

ISS crew complete space station repair

Crew Wraps Up Preparations for Wednesday's Spacewalk

EXO LIFE
SES signs three satellite launches with SpaceX

S. Korea to make third rocket launch bid in October

Arianespace concurrently manages six missions with Ariane 5 and Soyuz

First-Stage Fuel Loaded; Launch Weather Forecast Improves

EXO LIFE
Planets Can Form in the Galactic Center

Birth of a planet

A Hot Potential Habitable Exoplanet around Gliese 163

NASA's Kepler Discovers Multiple Planets Orbiting a Pair of Stars

EXO LIFE
Apple needs more than iPhone 5: analysts

SciTechTalk: Tablet wars heat up

System will seek orbiting space debris

Apple unveils thinner, more powerful iPhone 5




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement