Rogue 'Steppenwolf Planets' That Have Escaped From Their Suns Could Harbor Alien Life
31 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Lonely Earth-like planets with tumultuous cores could conceivably support life even if they had no stars, a new study says. Researchers Dorian Abbot and Eric Switzer at the University of Chicago have dubbed these theoretical worlds “Steppenwolf planets,” because “any life in this strange habitat would exist like a lone wolf wandering the galactic steppe.” And because they were born to be wild.
Rogue planets that have been kicked out of their solar systems (which is apparently common throughout the cosmos) could host oceans of liquid water as long as the planet’s core is heated, and if the water is buried beneath a layer of protective ice, the researchers say. Liquid water is generally considered a prerequisite for life.
A planet just 3.5 times the size of Earth, with Earth-like composition and roughly Earth-like age, could theoretically maintain a subglacial liquid ocean, Abbot and Switzer say. If it had about 10 times more water than Earth or a really thick atmosphere, it would only need to be about 0.3 times the size of Earth. That’s a little bigger than Mars and smaller than Venus, according to Technology Review’s arXiv blog.
Just like Earth, the Steppenworld would need an active mantle to maintain geothermal heat, keeping at least some of the water in liquid form. This is different from the tidal forces that keep Europa’s oceans liquid, so the planet could exist all alone, with no companion stars or planets to keep it warm.
There are a lot of unknowns, however, including the roles of convection and conduction in transferring heat. Still, it’s an interesting theory — rogue planets careening through the cosmos could be one way to spread life throughout the universe. And, as Abbot and Switzer point out, we would be able to see them through powerful telescopes if one traveled through our cosmic neighborhood. [/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/rogue-steppenwolf-planets-could-harbor-life-even-without-stars-sustain-them-astrophysicists-say[/url]
Without stars though, they would be pretty hard to find. Also, without stars and solar energy, how would vegatation(as we know it) survive? A whole new level of evolution would have to occur on these planets.
[QUOTE=vizard38;27965020]Without stars though, they would be pretty hard to find. Also, without stars and solar energy, how would vegatation(as we know it) survive? A whole new level of evolution would have to occur on these planets.[/QUOTE]
Thermal energy, maybe? Some creatures in the deep parts of the ocean survive from them. Not sure if life could [I]develop[/I] with it, but it certainly can sustain itself at least.
[QUOTE=vizard38;27965020]Without stars though, they would be pretty hard to find. Also, without stars and solar energy, how would vegatation(as we know it) survive? A whole new level of evolution would have to occur on these planets.[/QUOTE]
The same way life exists around black smokers on the ocean floor/trenches.
Incoming "Born to be Wild" jokes
That planet is such a rebel! [I][/I]
I like to dream?
[QUOTE=Luuper;27965782]I like to dream?[/QUOTE]
Right between my sound machine?
Isn't a rogue planet usually synonymous with "dead and lifeless planet"
Interesting. Doesn't mean much, though, if we don't get efficient space travel
I'm getting tired of everybody looking for water as a prerequisite for life. It's alien, it may not need water.
[QUOTE=munky91;27966559]I'm getting tired of everybody looking for water as a prerequisite for life. It's alien, it may not need water.[/QUOTE]
The reason they look for water is because in order for life to start, a lot of chemicals have to mix and water is a great medium for chemical mixing. Hydrogen and oxygen are very abundant in the universe so it's natural there would be water on some planets
I love the idea of inhabited planets just cruising the universe, getting pulled around by gravity.
[QUOTE=munky91;27966559]I'm getting tired of everybody looking for water as a prerequisite for life. It's alien, it may not need water.[/QUOTE]
100% of life discovered requires water.
There might be silicon-based life that uses ammonia instead of water.
[QUOTE=Capitulazyguy;27967720]There might be silicon-based life that uses ammonia instead of water.[/QUOTE]
It's pretty bloody unlikely though, and wouldn't get beyond a few molecules self-replicating.
But the universe is big. New discoveries happens everyday, and it wasn't long ago NASA found some bacteria that lives by useing arsenic somehow. Or something. Can't realy remember the details :v:
So the chance of the rest of the life in our universe(those we havn't found(if there is any)) requires water to live, should be small.
It's got to be dark as shit though.
Oh wow they're so dark and edgy
[QUOTE=ishownomercy;27967768]But the universe is big. New discoveries happens everyday, and it wasn't long ago NASA found some bacteria that lives by useing arsenic somehow. Or something. Can't realy remember the details :v:
So the chance of the rest of the life in our universe(those we havn't found(if there is any)) requires water to live, should be small.[/QUOTE]
It was a bacteria that partially replaces the phosphorous with arsenic with phosphorus in DNA.
Replacing water is hugely different, because there are few chemical species with properties as useful to an organism as water.
Just so we can get it out of the way:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbATaj7Il8[/media]
[QUOTE=Contag;27968558]It was a bacteria that partially replaces the phosphorous with arsenic with phosphorus in DNA.
Replacing water is hugely different, because there are few chemical species with properties as useful to an organism as water.[/QUOTE]
Ah okay. But still, there is alot we don't know about this universe. But I do see your point.
Mass Effect 3 level
[QUOTE=Jookia;27967512]100% of life discovered requires water.[/QUOTE]
And...
That's entirely terrestrial life. Not alien.
[editline]10th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=ishownomercy;27967768]But the universe is big. New discoveries happens everyday, and it wasn't long ago NASA found some bacteria that lives by useing arsenic somehow. Or something. Can't realy remember the details :v:
So the chance of the rest of the life in our universe(those we havn't found(if there is any)) requires water to live, should be small.[/QUOTE]
The bottom line here is that
[b]Life is unpredictable, you're an idiot to say all the conditions you think it cannot come from, when really, we've seen some pretty amazing things happen here, on earth. Is it so out of the question that more fantastical things happen outside our understanding. Do you really believe our understanding is even mildly deep enough to make these claims?[/b]
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;27980856]
[b]Life is unpredictable, you're an idiot to say all the conditions you think it cannot come from, when really, we've seen some pretty amazing things happen here, on earth. Is it so out of the question that more fantastical things happen outside our understanding. Do you really believe our understanding is even mildly deep enough to make these claims?[/b][/QUOTE]
Yes.
Unless this life is based on different physical laws, it is highly, highly improbable it exists without water.
[editline]11th February 2011[/editline]
Here's some interesting stuff.
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemistry[/url]
Hipster planets. [I]aren't I just so original? i don't even need a sun like you conformists![/I]
WOW this is fascinating! I wonder how many planets like this there are out the--
[i]*article from Popular Science*[/i]
oh. e_e
This also means that a planet doesnt have to be in the goldilocks zone in order to support life.
[editline]10th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Jookia;27967512]100% of life discovered requires water.[/QUOTE]
Yes but that doesnt mean something that replicates would automatically need water. There have been a few substitute for water that would work in different conditions.
Reminds me of that episode of Star Trek Enterprise.
Kinda reminds me of Eelong from the pendragon books. It doesn't have a sun, but a band of stars far away gives it light.
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