Todd Jaquith opines that one of the most pressing questions in science ... is there alien life somewhere out there within the universe, the type of terrestrial critters that we already know? We are still searching for the answer, but it seems that each day brings word of some new exoplanetary discovery that may at last resolve the issue. Our technology has evolved to the point where we can now detect Earth-sized (note the distinction between Earth-sized and Earth-like) exoplanets residing in the habitable zones of their parent stars.
But are we restricting ourselves unnecessarily, with the fetters of a geocentric prejudice? The circumstellar habitable zone (HZ) merely represents that part of a planetary system where temperatures are conducive to the existence of liquid water. In other words, precisely where the Earth currently resides in the Solar System. Certainly, with everything being equal, a planet with these conditions in a star HZ would be habitable to terrestrial life as we know it, but whoever said that is all we are looking for? Furthermore, we know that the HZ is not static in time, as a main sequence star evolves, its temperature increases, and the zone of habitability migrates further outward, which is something to consider for highly-evolved, red giant stars.
A recent study has shown that an exothermic chemical reaction known as serpentinization, whereby saltwater reacts with rocky minerals to produce heat and hydrogen, may be as common on Europa as in Earth oceans. Furthermore, the blistering radiation of Jupiter may be enough to separate oxygen atoms from water molecules in the moon icy mantle of Europa, with the oxygen then cycling deep into the interior. If correct, it means that all the ingredients for a thriving ecosystem are theoretically in place ....
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