Tag Archives: life

Exoplanets

The words in the above picture are hard to make out, but I really liked the visual of some of the known exoplanets graphed on a plot. The color and appearances of these planets are not truly known since we have not directly seen them, but they are inferred based on density, temperature, metal content, […] Continue reading

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Enceladus: Alien Life in Our Own Solar System?

Enceladus is an icy moon of Saturn, and is fairly small (or medium-sized, for a moon) with a diameter of about 500 km. For reference, the Moon has a diameter of about 3,475 km. Despite its size, however, Enceladus has been rated as among the most probable sources of life in our own solar system […] Continue reading

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Earth’s Atmosphere and Life

Earth’s atmosphere is conducive to life in a way other terrestrial worlds’ atmospheres are not.  This is because of the greenhouse effect, which keeps Earth warm and allows water to exist in its liquid form. Other planets such as Mercury which do not have an atmosphere or the greenhouse effect are extremely hot during the […] Continue reading

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Extremophiles

Extremophiles are organisms that not only can survive, but thrive in extreme environments. These are organisms that love the freezing or boiling temperatures, very acidic or very basic conditions, or super high-pressure, salty, or dry environments. There are even extremophiles that hate oxygen and thrive when there is none present. Extremophiles live in places thatContinue reading “Extremophiles” Continue reading

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Our Neighbor the Space Octopus

While the potential of finding microorganisms on Mars has intrigued us here on Earth for a while now, more advanced life may live on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon: Europa. In fact, Professor Monica Grady has proposed that, not only is life on Europa likely, but said life may include organisms with intelligence similar to thatContinue reading “Our Neighbor the Space Octopus” Continue reading

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solar system superlatives: Earth

Welcome to the last episode of solar system superlatives. I know it’s hard to believe, but, alas, all good things must end. In an effort to dry the tears brimming in all our eyes, I wanted to end this blog series on a happy note and on a celebration of vitality – by looking atContinue reading “solar system superlatives: Earth” Continue reading

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Europa, and the Possibility of Life

When we discussed the sub-surface oceans of some of the large moon-worlds, I was particularly excited about the idea that these places could potentially contain life, for what could be more exciting than the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe? As such, for my blog post, I wanted to dive into one potential homeContinue reading “Europa, and the Possibility of Life” Continue reading

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A home for future humans?

Size Comparison of Kepler 62e and 62f with Earth With the rate at which we are destroying our planet, we are likely to need a new Earth sometime in the future. Luckily for us, there are two potentially habitable planets that were discovered in the Kepler 62 System, called Kepler 62e and Kepler 62f. TheseContinue reading “A home for future humans?” Continue reading

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The Possibility of Life on Europa

Europa, taken during NASA’s Galileo Mission Life as we know it needs three major ingredients, at least according to NASA. Life needs water, the correct chemical makeup, and an energy source. Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, could have all three ingredients and is a candidate for sustaining life elsewhere in the Solar System. In termsContinue reading “The Possibility of Life on Europa” Continue reading

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Enceladus got life?

Thanks NASA’s Cassini mission, scientists have been able to confirm that underneath the icy crust of one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, lies a global ocean. Naturally, that begs the question could there possibly be something living in that ocean. When looking for life in our solar system, the first thing we look for is water […] Continue reading

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