The Possibility of New Life

planets

The human race has always been faced with the eternal question of “what if there are other planets we can inhabit?” If this is the case, then perhaps Earth is not the only planet humans can claim for themselves. Recently, one of the moons of Saturn has been shown to potentially suffice for a life-friendly surface. Mimas, one of Saturn’s moons, is said to be “liberated,” or subtly wobbling around the moon’s polar axis, as said in a new study in the journal Science. Radwan Tajeddine, Cornell research assistant in astronomy, lead the study, saying this wobble could indicate something beneath the surface of the moon, possibly an ocean. The wobble has about twice the surface displacement that scientists expected, as measured by the Cassini spacecraft, thus adding to the ocean theory. It is just a theory at this point, as it may turn out that Mimas and what’s under its surface may just be more rock, as with the moons’ surface. However, we must consider the very real possibility that we will find life on another planet or moon in the near future. Our planet is overpopulating at an accelerated rate nowadays, due to the worlds’ economy ever increasing, and the air temperature is expected to rise by about 1 degree celsius by the year 2069, according to overpopulation.org. This increases the need to possibility find new life in new places. A plan to execute moving humans and sustaining life on another planet is a daunting one, but the need forces us to add plausibility to the scenario. Whether it be from a moon, or another planet, we could be facing a crisis closer than we think. A new planet of life, no matter how theorized, would be the biggest discovery of our lifetimes, and scientists need to think more about this possibility. Our lives may depend on it.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/mimas-saturn-moon-ocean_n_6001420.html?utm_hp_ref=science

http://www.overpopulation.org/#

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/10/wobbling-saturn-moon-hints-what-lies-beneath

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html

 

 

One thought on “The Possibility of New Life

  1. Joseph Daniel Girardi

    Last blog period I had discussed how scientists are fairly certain that they would find life in space within the next 20 years. They said there are now over 5000 planets that are capable of sustaining life. If we could make even one of those planets capable of sustaining human life, it would be one of the biggest if not the biggest achievement in scientific history.

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