The Most Likely Places In Space That Might Have Alien Life
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Europa
There is a potential for life to be found on Europa, which orbits Jupiter. Europa has more water than any moon in the solar system. While having water is nice, the problem is that it is very deep. There are miles of ice that separate the water from the surface. This makes it extremely difficult to search for alien life, but it is possible that there is life beneath all of that ice.
Europa
There is a potential for life to be found on Europa, which orbits Jupiter. Europa has more water than any moon in the solar system. While having water is nice, the problem is that it is very deep. There are miles of ice that separate the water from the surface. This makes it extremely difficult to search for alien life, but it is possible that there is life beneath all of that ice.
Proxima Centauri b
Proxima Centauri b is the closest known exoplanet to the solar system, which is why scientists have been able to study so much about it. The good news is that it orbits within the habitable zone of Proxima Centaur, which means it could have water to sustain life. However, there are conditions on this planet that are not suitable for life. For one thing, it is 2,000 times windier than Earth, which means life would get blown off the planet.
Gliese 667 Cc
Gliese 667 Cc is an exoplanet that orbits the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 667 C and it might hold life. But there are some reasons to be concerned. Gliese 667 Cc has more overall electromagnetic radiation than Earth. That means it may be too hot to sustain life. The exolanet is subject to a lot of tidal heating. However, there is a terminator line on the planet where life might be sustainable.
Kepler-442b
Kepler-442b was discovered in 2015 and scientists believe that this exoplanet could hold life. It is about the same size as the Earth and it orbits in an habitual zone. It is possible that water exists on the surface. This Earth-like exoplanet also has temperatures similar to Earth. However, with a limited axial tilt, the exoplanet does not go through the same seasons as Earth does. As a result, scientists are not sure if there is life on Kepler-442b.
Ganymede
Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter and it is larger than any moon in the solar system. It has the same potential for life as the other moons of Jupiter. There are substantial oceans on the moon. In fact, it has more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. There is also a lot of ice covering the planet, as well a good amount of silicate rock. There is not evidence of life on the moon yet.
Kepler-452b
Anytime you are nicknamed Earth's cousin, that has to be a good sign that there might actually be life on this place. Kepler-452b is an exoplanet that orbits a star very similar to our Sun. It is the first potentially rocky super-Earth that scientists have discovered. There are concerns that if Kepler-452b is rocky, then it might be subjected to a runaway greenhouse effect. Scientists are still trying to determine what kind of oceans exist on this exoplanet.
Wolf 1061c
Wolf 1061c is described as a super-Earth exoplanet. It is barely within the habitable zone of one star in another solar system. It is still a little too close to its star. As a result, scientists believe that one side of Wolf 1061c permanently faces the star and the other side never faces the star. This would provide for an uneven experience for the potential life on the planet. There is also a terminator line that might hold life.
Kepler186f
Scientists hope that Kepler186f has life because it is the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's to be discovered in the habitable zone. The problem with this is that exoplanet is that the atmosphere for it is largely a mystery. In addition, it likely rotates around its star at a slower speed than the Earth rotating around the Sun. Despite the challenges with Kepler186f, scientists are hopeful that it will contain some life.
Titan
There's a good chance that Titan might be the one place in the solar system that scientists find real evidence of life. It is a moon of Saturn and it is the only moon with a dense atmosphere. More importantly, Titan has clear evidence of surface liquid. Most of the liquid is in the form of natural gas-based lakes, but it is still an important find. Titan is also nearly twice the size of Earth's moon.
TRAPPIST-1d
TRAPPIST-1d is another water-rich exoplanet that falls within the habitable zone. Only about 5 percent of its mass is water, and it is mostly in one big ocean. Although scientists believe that there has been runaway greenhouse effect here, there could still be some water on it. It could also hold life because it shares many qualities with Earth, including the amount of starlight. There has been some debate about how the atmosphere can sustain life.
Callisto
Callisto is the second largest moon on Jupiter. Scientists believe that there might be life on this planet because of the potential subsurface oceans. There might also be salt water in those oceans. However, the conditions are not perfect for life. There is a lack of contact with rocky material on the planet, which might prevent any hope of life being found on Callisto. This moon does have a good chance of supporting microbial life beneath the surface.
TRAPPIST-1e
TRAPPIST-1e shares a lot of qualities with Earth, and that makes it likely candidate for life. This exoplanet share's Earth's density, radius, gravity, and temperature. However, like many exoplanets, it is tidally locked. Additionally, the planet contains a terminator line where life can be sustained. Another promising detail is about the atmosphere, which is hydrogen free. This is good news, because hydrogen would have made TRAPPIST-1e unsuitable for life. The exoplanet was only discovered a few years ago.
LHS 1140 b
LHS 1140 b is considered to be a Super-Earth because it is 7 times larger. It is in the habitable zone, albeit barely. it also has a low equilibrium temperature, which means it is really cold there. There is also an Earth-like greenhouse effect on the planet. Scientists are still not sure if they can classify LHS 1140 b as an explonent that could hold life or not. They will have to conduct more research into it.
TRAPPIST-1f
TRAPPIST-1f also falls within the habitable zone where life an be sustained. As a result of a gaseous envelope around the exoplanet, temperatures there might be too high. In 2017, researchers confirmed the possible discovery of water on TRAPPIST-1f. If you are looking to a find a planet with life, you might in luck. This planet has a radius that is identical to Earth's radius. However, the mass of TRAPPIST-1f is less than Earth, so it might not hold life.
Enceladus
As the 6th largest moon for Saturn, Enceladus does not normally generate the most attention. However, the planet might be a place where life exists. It has already been covered that there are geysers of frozen salt water all around this moon. There is also possible hydrothermal activity on Enceladus' sub-surface ocean floor. Scientists are trying to research more about Enceladus, as small samples from it are being projected into space all of the time.
TRAPPIST-1g
Located in the constellation Aquarius, TRAPPIST-1g is also an exoplanet in the habitable zone. The planet is relatively new to researchers. It is pretty close to its star and it only takes about 12 days to complete a full cycle. In 2017, scientists discovered the first evidence of possible water content on the exoplanet. That means there is a chance that there might be life on TRAPPIST-1g, but more research will be needed to check it out.
Venus
Scientists have speculated about life on Venus. However, it is closer to the sun. That means the conditions are probably unstable for life. The good news is that there is potential for life. Microorganisms might live beneath the surface, which could be interesting to explore. There is also a lot of chemistry occurring on this planet, including gases that could be used to help sustain a food chain. It is not the likeliest planet with life, but it could be there.
Kepler-62e
Kepler-62e is one of those exoplanets that you could argue if it can sustain life or not. On the one hand, Kepler-62e has a stellar flux and a rocky composition like Earth. It also might have water, according to what scientists have determined. However, there are some problems with assuming that this exoplanet has life. It only takes 122 days to complete a calendar year, and it is about 60 percent larger than the Earth.
Mars
Mars has enough organic chemistry to sustain life. For years, humans have dreamed about finding potential life on Mars. There still needs to be more evidence to determine if there is life. At one point, scientists speculated that Mars was once the home to life many years ago, but there isn't enough evidence yet. There could be salt water beneath the surface of Mars, but scientists need to examine it further to confirm it for sure.
Gliese 832 c
Gliese 832 c is Earth's fifth-closest known potentially habitable exoplanet. Like other potential exoplanets that could hold life, Gliese 832 c is in the habitable zone, is tidal locked, and has a terminator line with suitable temperatures. However, there are also problems with this exoplanet. For instance, Gliese 832 c has a Venusian-like atmosphere, which will make it impossible to have life. In addition, there is some debate as to whether or not this exoplanet actually has oceans.
