Technology
Alien LIFE could exist on nearby planet with dying Sun, scientists claim
SCIENTISTS think they’ve spotted a planet capable of sustaining life in a major new discovery.
Experts weren’t even looking for aliens when they found signs of the key ingredient all living things need – water.
Mark A. GarlickArtist impression of what the planet and its white dwarf might look like[/caption]
Better still, they believe the planet is located in the so-called “habitable zone” of its Sun, meaning it’s not too cold nor too hot for life to thrive.
Space nerds are excited because if it’s confirmed it’ll be the first time a planet that could support life has been found orbiting a star of this kind, known as a “white dwarf”.
A white dwarf is basically a dying Sun – and 95% of all stars will eventually go through the same thing, including our own.
And when it does happen to our solar system, Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth will be swallowed up.
Though no need to worry anytime soon, as it’s not expected for another four to five billion years.
Astronomers can’t even see this new planet yet, so it’s not technically been confirmed to exist at all for now.
Using sophisticated detection tech, they believe it’s about 117 light years away from Earth.
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Though we could never dream of travelling there in our lifetime, when you consider how big the universe is it isn’t horribly far.
But we haven’t even made it to Mars yet, which is less than one light year away.
“The possibility of a major planet in the habitable zone is exciting and also unexpected; we were not looking for this,” said Professor Jay Farihi, who led the research.
“However, it is important to keep in mind that more evidence is necessary to confirm the presence of a planet.
“We cannot observe the planet directly so confirmation may come by comparing computer models with further observations of the star and orbiting debris.”
The study is published by the Royal Astronomical Society.
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