Extraterrestrials may be hidden under thick ice

by Greg Rakozy

Although it is indispensable for talking about the universe "whether or not an extraterrestrial life exists", if there is such an extraterrestrial life body, there is a possibility that it may be confined under thick ice Kurzgesagt of the YouTube channel that uploads scientific movies explains.

Aliens under the Ice - Life on Rogue Planets - YouTube


A free-floating planet is a mass that is about a planet, but not a gravitational constraint to a stellar or brown dwarf, or other celestial body, and refers to a celestial body directly revolving around the galaxy. So to speak, a free floating planet is a planet that wanders carelessly in the dark, vast universe.

There is no concept of the season in the space where the free floating planet drifts. There is also the possibility of keeping drifting in the darkness which can not be distinguished between day and night. In that case, the surface of the celestial body will never be warmed up, so there is a possibility that it is frozen in a click.

However, there is the possibility that such free-floating planets will bring extraterrestrial life from the edge of the galaxy.

Celestial bodies called free floating planets (Rogue Planets) have different characteristics.

For example, sub-brown dwarf (Sub-Brown Dwarfs) is a celestial body which is formed from a gas cloud collapses brown dwarf is present as a brother. However, it can also be said to be a "star that failed to become a planet".

There are also cases where "earth planet (Terrestrial Planets)" like earth is a free floating planet.

It is thought that a free floating planet can be formed in such a way that a protoplanet with a small mass is ejected from the system in the formation process of the planetary system.

At this time, the protoplanets approach each other, the one with large mass absorbs the small one, and the other planet may collide.

Also, if the massive planet (left end) is too close to the orbit of the small mass planet ... ...

A planet with small mass deviates from the system ......

There are also cases where they are flicked out.

Just because you did not eject from the system during the formation of the planetary system is not always safe.

The planetary system is easily disturbed by other huge celestial bodies and black holes.

Based on these, it is possible that about half of the celestial bodies born in space will become free floating planets.

Some scientists oppose the theory that "About half of the objects created in space are likely to become free floating planets", but even the Milky Way Galaxy including the Earth, at least billions It is thought that things are free floating planets.

Most of the free floating planets that exist in myriad of such universe trace the same fate.

As for what kind of fate, it decreases with each day, accompanied by that the temperature of the surface of the celestial body drops rapidly and it cools down to about minus 270 degrees. If such a free floating planet had the sea, the sea surface will freeze in the tick as the ground. Even with the atmosphere, the air froze due to the temperature drop, eventually leading to the formation of a layer of ice on the surface of the celestial body.

However, Kurzgesagt points out that this layer of ice may be "a shelter of life."

To understand what this is all about, imagine "the earth that became a free floating planet".

When the earth moves away from the sun and becomes a free floating planet, the earth floats in the dark space, so the solar energy hardly reaches and the temperature of the surface drops sharply.

One element indispensable to life is "liquid water". "Water combines the two important elements" substance "and" energy ", so it can cause interesting chemical changes like life," Kurzgesagt said. Therefore, the earth on which we live must be sufficiently warm so that at least part of the ocean can be maintained as liquid water, which requires a lot of energy.

But awkwardly, about 99.97% of the Earth 's energy balance is derived from the sun.

In other words, if there is a fictitious "Earth that has become a free floating planet", that star will have to foster life with only 0.03% "Earth-derived energy" removed energy from the sun.

Geothermal is becoming important at that time.

The nucleus of the earth is a huge metallic ball that is as hot as the surface of the sun. This nucleus releases a lot of heat as it coagulates very slowly.

As long as the nuclear continues to be hot, the Earth will be able to send geothermal energy to the surface ... ...

As a result, it is possible to create "liquid water" indispensable to life.

It takes billions of years for the planet's nucleus to cool down and harden ... ...

Kurzgesagt said that it would be enough for intellectual living bodies such as humans to prosper in the "Earth that became a freely floating planet" if only this time.

Also, if the "earth that became a free floating planet" has a very high density and high pressure hydrogen gas, the gas does not freeze, it functions to sufficiently confine the heat escaping from the planet, so the planet It is possible to have a liquid ocean to the surface.

In addition, if a free floating planet has the "moon" on the earth, there is a possibility that the sea may become a warmer temperature planet without having to freeze it.

If a free floating planet has a moon like satellite (or a satellite with a mass greater than that), tidal power is born if the satellite is sufficiently large, and additional energy that can not be obtained by a single "earth that became a free floating planet" It will be possible to get. As this tidal power gradually applies force in the direction of the arrow to the celestial body, it may help to keep the entire planet warm so as to knead the bread dough.

However, the most likely scenario where the "earth that became a free floating planet" has life ... ...

It is when there is a liquid ocean under ice of less than 1 km in thickness.

It is not a ridiculous assumption that human beings are observing several planets already meeting this condition in the solar system.

So how does life live at the bottom of the dark and cold sea?

In the deep inside the dark ocean of the earth ......

Volcanic areas have hydrothermal vents called black smokers . Black smoker discharges hot water and sulfides such as lead, zinc, copper and iron from the Earth's mantle, which reacts with seawater and turns black.

And ingest mineral discharged from black smoker ......

Bacteria produce organic matter.

Living organisms such as crustaceans, bivalves, snails, fish, octopus and worms. The hot water spout like black smoker is not only an incredibly diverse settlement of living things but also there is even a possibility that it may be the "starting point of life on the earth" of billions of years ago That's it.

On the other hand, in the case of the seabed of "the earth that became a free floating planet" ...

There is a possibility that a similar reaction like the earth's ocean floor occurs and a complicated ecosystem of a level not imagined by humans may be formed.

Moreover, the world where the sea surface is closed with ice has the advantage that "environment is very stable".

Because the meteorite and gamma rays do not worry that life will be extinct because they are covered with ice layers. If the sea surface is covered with ice, it will be possible to maintain almost the same environment unless the energy from the nucleus of the planet is gone.

When such an environment exists, the most likely to be discovered are bacteria and microorganisms.

However, if there is sufficient time to form an ecosystem, there is also the possibility that more complicated creatures are born.

And it is not impossible for intellectual life forms to be born in such environments.

However, in such an environment, because there are thick ice walls on the ceiling and hard rocks on the ground ......

I can not grow plants to store energy. As a result, human beings such as wood, petroleum and coal will be the world in which essential objects are not present to generate energy.

Without wood, petroleum, coal etc, we can not process metal into useful shapes and things.

Then, even intellectual life forms can not handle the energy of petroleum and coal, it is more likely that you can not break a thick ice layer.

In that case, the intelligent living bodies may not know the outside world, only the planet they live in may be mistaken for all in the world. If so, millions of generations will live and die only in the dark ocean without knowing anything even though there is an incredibly vast universe on the ice.

And when the nucleus of the star stops its activity, the sea freezes, it is possible that the civilization and the ecosystem will continue to be frozen and remain as it is.

Likewise there is a possibility that lives that can not be separated from the planet and the civilizations that they have nurtured are still frozen and remain throughout the universe.

Kurzgesagt points out the possibility that such a world is passing through the solar system before anyone knows. And I close off the movie that the possibility that human beings will step into the world closed by such ice at some timing in the future.