By: Skyler Johnson
A scientific study originally aimed at testing the capability of life on Venus has now shown that there is a chance for life not on our sister planet, but on the gaseous giant, Jupiter.
The study aimed to figure out whether Venus could maintain life based on water activity, which is measured on a 0 to 1 scale, with 1 being pure water and 0 being the complete absence of it. The minimum viable water activity for life on Earth was determined to be 0.585, with Venus being 0.007, but Jupiter just reaching the threshold at 0.585.
Jupiter is also the perfect temperature to maintain life, being -40 degrees F, which is just survivable. Life can only survive at that temperature and above.
While these statistics may be exciting, you’re not exactly going to be seeing E.T. coming from Jupiter. After all, it’s a gaseous planet. Life, if any at all, would be existing within Jupiter’s clouds, and would only be made up of a single cell. The planet has a lot of Ultraviolet Radiation and very little nutrients, so sustaining life may not even be possible. Nevertheless, life is possible for the gaseous giant.
The scientific possibilities of this finding, while it may seem relatively minor given we don’t actually know if there’s life outside of planet Earth, it does offer some interesting possibilities. After all, we have no idea what these creatures may look like and what biological adaptations they may have in order to adapt to living in the dangerous conditions Jupiter provides. What we could end up finding might lead us to find ways to adapt as a species.
Interestingly, if Jupiter ends up being inhabitable, there’s also a chance that one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, houses life beneath it’s under-ice ocean, which would be similar to Earth’s Deep Ocean hydrothermal vents, which are basically a volcano erupting underwater and spouting out life-providing sediments. While we have no idea what’s under Europa’s surface there have been some calls for a probe so we may soon get some answers.
Nevertheless, only time will tell what may be found on other planets. But with more information like with the study released today, who knows what the future may bring.
