'Aliens.' (2)

Europa

"This planet seems to be in such sorry shape. And I can't ever think about the rest of the universe without coming back home and thinking what the implications for life here would be if we were to really have some definitive proof of extraterrestrial life." 
- Ann Druyan 

 
I can't go on in life thinking that we are the only source of life out there. It just can't be true - some models of our visible Universe are Billions of Light Years across. In this case I can't think why some people still believe we are the only source of life. In one sense I have a feeling that life outside Earth may already be within our grasp; our own Solar System.

Europa is one of Jupiter's 63 known moons and is 600 million - 1 billion kilometres away from Earth depending on orbital distances. Most Scientists think that beneath the surface of this mysterious moon, there is a subsurface ocean which could be home to micro-bacterial or even more complex forms of life. The whole basis of the theory sounds crazy, however a similar thing has happened on Earth. Life has been found deep in some of our worlds trench's, places where the pressure is the equivalent of having 50 jumbo jets piled on top of you and the land lies in a cover of darkness. Scientists were shocked making this discovery, however could the same be in store out there in our Solar System?

Maybe.

For a while it was thought that the 'standard model' of life was plants get energy from the sun, are eaten by animals etc. however another discovery made in some of our Earth's deepest point shows a new system.

Black Smokers.

Black smokers are tiny undersea volcanoes that have been found to support thriving life. Instead of plants - bacteria which gain energy through chemical reactions that bubble up through these Black Smokers form the basis of the food chain with more complex forms of life such as arthropods and mollusks part of this independent food chain?

Could this be the same outside Earth?
Until a probe is sent to Europa which can handle its tough exterior we will lie in wait, but until then we can only imagine such creature that could live in this alien world. 

Thank you for reading this, from a different blogger that you're used to - Bye, Chris.

P.S For more information on Europa and the possiblity of Alien Life I've provided a video clip from "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking - Aliens", enjoy.