Alien life could thrive in terminator zones, the edges between the light and dark sides of planets that are tidally locked with their host stars.
Imagine if one side of the Earth always faced the sun. Half of the planet would be stuck in perpetual daylight, the other shrouded in permanent night.
"These planets have a permanent day side and a permanent night side," Ana Lobo , University of California, Irvine astrophysicist and lead author of the new work, said in a statement ."This is a planet where the dayside can be scorching hot, well beyond habitability, and the night side is going to be freezing, potentially covered in ice. You could have large glaciers on the night side.
Astrobiologists often focus on ocean worlds since water is such a key ingredient for life. Lobo and collaborators, however, wanted to find new niches where life may be able to survive."We are trying to draw attention to more water-limited planets, which despite not having widespread oceans, could have lakes or other smaller bodies of liquid water, and these climates could actually be very promising," Lobo said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Aliens: Dark Descent Release Date Revealed in New Gameplay ExplainerTindalos Interactive's upcoming Aliens game, Aliens: Dark Descent, now got its release date, as revealed in a new trailer.
Read more »
Why This Bizarre Space Rock (Probably) Wasn’t Made By AliensA simple explanation that might finally put one theory to rest.
Read more »
Aliens: Dark Descent Reveals Gameplay Trailer & Launch DateICYMI: AliensDarkDescent finally has a proper release date for PC and consoles as we get a new trailer showing off the gameplay. FocusEntertainment
Read more »
Can the Alien franchise be saved after decades of disappointment?The announcement of another Alien installment reminds us that the franchise has been lost in space since James Cameron's classic 1986 sequel
Read more »
Alien life may thrive in space dust released by huge asteroid impactsA professor proposes a new way to search for alien life using space dust ejected from other worlds.
Read more »