Could the Earth be the harsh place for life in the universe?

The universe contains hundreds of billions of galaxies, each galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars, and many stars have planets orbiting them, looking for extraterrestrial life like searching for a needle in the seabed. . So how can one find life in such a vast area and what do those planets look like?

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Conditions for a planet to survive

To answer, look no further, look at our own planet - Earth - because this is the only planet that has life we ​​know. When looking at the Earth from the universe, we see 3/4 of the Earth's surface covered with water. Water possesses unique physical and chemical properties, and is therefore essential for all life. So we are especially interested in planets with lots of water. Luckily, water is very common in the universe. But the resurrection requires water in liquid form, not in ice form or vapor, and this is truly rare.

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In order for a planet to have liquid water on the surface, it must meet three conditions:

  1. First , the planet needs to be large enough that gravity can prevent water molecules from flying into space. For example, Mars smaller than Earth should have smaller gravity, and that's why there is no water on the surface of Mars.

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  1. Second , that planet needs an atmosphere . Because liquid water is not stable in a vacuum. For example, the moon does not have an atmosphere, so when we pour some water on the Moon it will either evaporate into gas or freeze into ice.

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  1. Third , the planet needs a distance appropriate to its star . If too close, the surface temperature will surpass the boiling point of the water and cause the water to evaporate. If too far away, the low surface temperature will cause the water to freeze.

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Well, finding a planet with life is too difficult, isn't it? So to make it easier for us to explore the region that may contain planets with life around a star, or the 'habitable zone', it's the best place to find a planet like Earth. While this is a pretty good place to look for habitable planets, it is not certain.

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A planet is unlikely to have life just because it is in a "fertile region" . Consider Venus in the solar system. If you look from somewhere outside the universe, you will see Venus and the Earth as twins and perfectly suitable for survival: Right size, atmosphere, located in "bio-region" " of the Solar System. But in fact Venus cannot have life because it is so hot. Venus's atmosphere is mostly CO 2 , which is 100 times thicker than Earth's atmosphere, and consequently the temperatures on Venus are so hot that fusing lead and the planet is as dry as a desert. So, a planet of the right size and distance is just the beginning. It is still necessary to know the composition of its atmosphere.

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Is life really 'as simple' as we think?

When we study the Earth more closely. Over the past 30 years, we have found microorganisms that survive in harsh environments, in geological cracks deep millions of times below the surface of the earth, near the craters of the ocean floor, in the acidic waters of Hot springs, in the permafrost on the peaks. And so to speak, the creatures that withstand these extreme conditions are not uncommon.

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These suggest that planets like Earth may be just the surface of the cosmic biological iceberg. Perhaps life is still existing in the aquifer below the surface of Mars. Microorganisms are growing on Jupiter's Europa, where liquid water is located under the ice. Or another ocean beneath Saturn's satellite Enceladus, occasionally spewing hot water into the universe.

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Do we really understand life, is there any kind of life that exists on another liquid other than water? We may be new creatures living in harsh and unusual places. Perhaps the "true fertility zone" is so vast, there are billions of needles on the bottom of that vast ocean. On a macro level, the Earth is just one of many life forms in the vast universe and there are only two ways to make it clear: go out there and explore or wait for those people to visit.

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