Space

Alien Life Forms May Be Found On Jupiter's Europa And Saturn's Titan

Elaine Hannah
First Posted: May 21, 2016 04:47 AM EDT

In recent study, the Jupiter's fourth largest moon "Europa" has vast oceans and warmer weather just like the planet Earth. This indicates that there might be chances of alien life on the said planet. Likewise, the Saturn's largest moon, "Titan," may also hold alien life forms.

NASA states that Saturn's Titans in the only one with a dense atmosphere and huge liquid reservoirs on its area among the other hundreds of moons in the solar system. This makes it more like a terrestrial planet. Titan is comprised mostly of pure liquid methane and its seabed may be covered in a slush of carbon and nitrogen material. The shores of Titan may be surrounded by wetlands.

The Earth and Saturn's Titan have nitrogen-dominated atmospheres. Titan has more than 95 percent nitrogen. Earth has more oxygen yet Titan has very little oxygen. The rest of the atmosphere is mostly methane. There are also gases that include ethane.

The European Space Agency cited that methane is a by-product of the metabolism of many organisms. They explained that on Earth the simplest biological sources, such as those associated with rice fields, peat bogs and ruminant animals, continuously supply fresh gas to replace that damaged by oxidation. Then they asked if this could mean life on Titan.

Meanwhile, Jupiter's Europa has a vast ocean beneath its frozen surface. This could host conditions of favorable for life. Steve Vance from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that they are studying an alien ocean using systems developed to understand the movement of energy and nutrients in Earth's own systems. He further said that the cycling of oxygen and hydrogen in Europa's ocean will be a major driver for Europa's ocean chemistry and any life there, just as it is on Earth.

So, are there possibilities that alien life forms may exist on the two planets? Astronomers and other people who are eager to find another Earth-like planet are continually researching and hoping that there would be planets that life could exist. The Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Titan serve as challenges and would be candidates for the existence of life forms.

 

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