While Earth is the only known planet to have any kind of life, other objects in and out of our solar system have potentially shown signs of habitability. For years, scientists have researched the possibility of there being life on other planets. Recently, they have found some evidence to support this by exploring the three celestial bodies that show the strongest evidence of life. This includes Jupiter’s moon, Europa, Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, and K2-18 b, an exoplanet about 120 light years away.
Europa is one of the more widely known objects to have any signs of life. This moon revolves around Jupiter and is covered in a thick layer of ice. However, the Galileo probe discovered that there is an ocean under the moon’s miles of thick ice. More recently, the James Webb Space Telescope also detected traces of carbon in the ocean, and conducted a further study that found proof of carbon dioxide on the planet. Carbon is a crucial element that, to our current knowledge, is necessary for life.
The second planet was an exoplanet (a planet orbiting a star outside of the solar system) 120 light years away and eight times bigger than Earth called K2-18 b. Although found recently, the planet was the earliest piece of evidence that scientists have found of life on other planets. It was discovered to have a large amount of methane and carbon dioxide, which are greenhouse gasses that keep the planet warm. However, the most promising thing about this planet possibly having life is the discovery of dimethyl sulfide. Dimethyl sulfide is only made by microbial life on Earth, so scientists believe that the planet itself could have (or we have a high chance of finding) small, biological life on the planet.
The third celestial object with potential for life is Enceladus. This is Saturn’s sixth largest moon, and was caught by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 spraying plumes, or large columns, of water vapor miles away from the planet’s surface. The distance that the water vapor was sprayed was larger than the width of the planet itself, leading scientists to believe that there are hydrothermal vents in the ocean below the surface that are using heated water to spray the water outwards. Scientists found five elements that strongly support evidence of life in the ice on Enceladus’ surface: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The only common life-evident element that wasn’t found was phosphorus, however, phosphorus is one of the elements that is least common among living beings on Earth. Additionally, the water vapor in the plume itself contained methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, which also helped create life.
The James Webb Space Telescope aided scientists immensely in their quest to find out information about father space objects. The telescope’s investigation of Europa, Enceladus, and K2-18 revealed signs of life, and signifies great advancement in our limited knowledge of the universe.
