2020 had many surprises, one of the only things it was missing were aliens. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is whether we are the only life form in the universe. Although this inquiry might be far from being answered, the past few months have brought new perspectives for the future.
Here, we going to recollect some of the things discovered about aliens during this year.
1. Life On Venus
In September, a major theory shocked the scientific community. After a series of studies, scientists discovered traces of phosphine molecules in the atmosphere of Venus, which could be an indication that there are life forms on the second planet in the solar system.
On Earth, phosphine is associated with some bacteria that do not use oxygen to breathe, as well as some animal activities. This is a common molecule on gas planets, but there is no apparent reason why it was produced on Venus.
However, the researchers still find it highly unlikely that the data indicates some form of life is on Venus.
2. Alien Civilizations
According to research published in The Astrophysical Journal, 36 alien civilizations are sharing the Milky Way with us. The calculation was made using the Drake Equation, a probabilistic argument invented in 1961 to determine the possibility of civilizations that could come into contact with our existence based on the formation of stars.
However, even if these calculations were substantiated, the nearest civilization would still be 17 thousand light-years away from our small planet.
3. Promising Worlds
In 2020, science revealed four places within our solar system that have a high potential for cultivating life: Mars, Europe, Enceladus, and Titan. Earlier this year, a huge lake was discovered beneath an ice sheet in the southern hemisphere of the red planet, establishing the possibility for the development of microbes.
Europa, Jupiter’s moon, Enceladus and Titan, Saturn’s moons, are just as favorable. The first, like Mars, might contain water and is covered by a layer of ice that could hide an ocean more than 100 km deep. The same goes for Enceladus, which also has a thick layer of ice on the surface.
Finally, Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a considerable, nitrogen-rich atmosphere, which serves as an important building block for proteins in all known life forms.
