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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday April 13 2019, @10:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the new-tanning-destination-vacations dept.

Alien Life Could Thrive On Four Earth-Like Planets Close To The Solar System, Says Study

Alien life could be evolving right now on some of the nearest exoplanets to our solar system, claim scientists at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Their proof is you.

It's been presumed that the high levels of radiation known to be bombarding many of the rocky Earth-like exoplanets discovered so far by astronomers precludes life, but that theory is turned on its head by new research published [open, DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz724] [DX] in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

In "Lessons from Early Earth: UV Surface Radiation Should Not Limit the Habitability of Active M Star System", the authors say that all of life on Earth today evolved from creatures that thrived during an era of much higher levels of UV radiation assault. So why not life on alien worlds? It also poses another question: does the evolution of life actually require high levels of radiation?

The exoplanets studied are Proxima b, TRAPPIST-1e, Ross 128 b, and LHS 1140 b.

Related: ESO Confirms Reports of Proxima Centauri Exoplanet
Proxima b May Have Oceans
Seven Earth-Sized Exoplanets, Including Three Potentially Habitable, Identified Around TRAPPIST-1
Possible Habitable Planet, LHS 1140b, Only 40 Light Years Away
An Earth-Like Atmosphere May Not Survive the Radiation in Proxima b's Orbit
Hubble Observations Suggest TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets Could Have Water
Ross 128b: A Newly Discovered "Earth-Like" Exoplanet Orbiting a Less Active Red Dwarf
Another TRAPPIST-1 Habitability Study


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 13 2019, @04:38PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @04:38PM (#828997) Journal

    I've mentioned several times that life doesn't have to conform to what we know, or what we expect. Right here on earth, we have human beings who are pretty different in appearance. Two continents worth of people have evolved with pigmentation that helps avoid sunburn and possibly other radiation as well. Two more continents were filled with people with considerably less malanin in their skin, and it seems they are quite fit for the amount of radiation from the sun in their areas. Then, we have another continent with a whole bunch of people with very little pigmentation in their skins because - less sun. Or, maybe more years living in caves - whatever.

    I'd like to be around when they actually discover life foreign to earth. Photographs of the shocked looks on people's faces need to be preserved for posterity. "Wow, I didn't even think it WAS alive, until it leaped onto Lieutenant Weebly's face, and ate his face off! And, look at it now - you still wouldn't believe that it's alive, it's just so WIERD!!"

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