Alien life news: Exomoons could welcome extraterrestrial life, says hopeful astronomer | Science | New

The exomoons or the extrasolar moon are the natural satellites that, like our own Moon, gravitate around larger bodies in the cosmos. Astronomers have so far discovered nearly 4,000 exoplanets outside our system and extraterrestrial worlds are a prime target for research. Scientists generally focus on earth-sized worlds located at a so-called habitable distance from their host stars. An astrophysicist from the University of Lincoln, UK, however, told Express.co.uk that there might be a better candidate for the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Dr. Phil Sutton of Lincoln's School of Mathematics and Physics has conducted computer simulations on the distant exoplanet J1407b.

The researcher focuses primarily on how the planetary rings – 200 times larger than those of Saturn – form and interact with giant planets.

And the next big question is whether these extraterrestrial worlds have the right conditions for life to evolve.

Dr. Sutton said, "Exomoons are the best place where life can exist."

READ MORE: We will never see strangers "because we are going to destroy them", fear the experts

However, because of their size and distances, the exoplanets and their Moon are incredibly difficult to discover.

Dr. Sutton stated that the J1407b itself is located approximately 400 light-years from our system, a distance of 2,351,450 100,000,000 miles.

The most common way for astronomers to discover exoplanets is to detect slight dips in the brightness of the stars in the hope that these hollows are caused by the planet in transit.

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is at the forefront of the discovery of exoplanets by this method.

READ MORE: The aliens are HERE and they breed with humans, says a professor from the University of Oxford

Exoplanets with rings, however, may show signs of gaps and these gaps may be explained by the presence of exomoons.

These worlds can thrive even outside the habitable zone, where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold, but just perfect for the survival of liquid water.

According to Dr. Sutton, there are examples of such worlds within our own solar system, where geographic processes set the stage for life.

They are extraterrestrial worlds like the moon of Jupiter, Europa or Enceladus in orbit of Saturn.

READ MORE: NASA closes Spitzer space telescope after 16 years

Dr. Sutton said, "These are frozen moons with ice sheets thick a few kilometers."

But at the bottom of the ice, there are vast oceans of liquid waters where extraterrestrial microbes might exist.

How is it possible? Dr. Sutton said the secret lies in the gravitational influence of the respective gaseous giants of the moons.

Even if the planets and their exomoons are outside the habitable zone where temperatures freeze, the tides caused by the gravity of the latter are powerful enough to warm the frozen oceans.

READ MORE: That's what Neil Armstrong saw on the moon after his "little step"

As a result, Dr. Sutton argued that scientists could use this information to compare the types of life found at the bottom of the ocean with what could be hidden in the depths of these exotic oceans.

But, even though it was the case, the astrophysicist stated that we still did not know what were the triggers of life.

Here on Earth, life began to emerge in the oceans about 3.5 billion years ago and remained in the oceans until about a billion years ago.

Thus, even if the conditions relating to exomoons are correct, there is nothing to know whether the spark at the origin of the evolution of life is present – we simply do not know what it is. 39; is.

READ MORE: Why do humans risk dying while going on Mars – "It's a real problem"

There are also other obstacles on the way, such as the proximity of a planet to its stars.

Dr. Sutton said, "The planets very close to their stars are uninhabitable."

The problem boils down to a violent solar activity, such as solar flares, powerful enough to make the planets inhospitable.

On Earth, magnetically charged solar surges cause all kinds of problems, such as power grid fluctuations, geomagnetic storms, and power outages.

Exoplanets closer to us than our stars risk far more serious consequences.

But, the astrophysicist said that he was "optimistic", scientists will someday discover something within our own solar system.

In simple terms, Dr. Sutton said, "We want to find life."

And with the distance that separates our planet from the nearest stars, it is currently unimaginable to reach an exoplanet with a space probe.

It would take four years traveling at the speed of light to reach the closest star to Earth, Alpha Centauri A.

Right now, our best chance is to send probes like Cassini and Huygens from NASA to explore our own system.

Dr. Sutton said, "I would like to see another probe return to Saturn and Jupiter."

Many "theoretical works on exomoons" are in progress and Dr. Sutton hopes to continue his research on annealed exoplanets and their moons.

How do astronomers find exoplanets in space?

According to NASA, the US space agency, astronomers have five essential ways to track distant planets.

1. Monitor Oscillations: Orbiting planets cause stars to oscillate in space, changing the color of light observed by astronomers.

2. In search of shadows: a planet passing just in front of a star can attenuate its light enough to be detected from the Earth.

3. Direct Imaging: Astronomers can photograph palettes by directly removing glare from the stars they orbit.

4. Gravitational Microlenses: Light from distant stars is slightly bent by gravity when a planet moves between Earth and the star.

5. Astrometry: The orbit of a planet can cause a wobble compared to the position of neighboring stars in the sky.