Scientists find signs of possible life on other planets
Will scientists one day find life outside Earth? - (NASA)
Space scientists have discovered a new signal that may indicate the existence of extraterrestrial life , which gives new hope to the scientific community.
The British newspaper "Daily Mail" said that scientists from Cornell University in the United States believe that planets that harbor "life" may give a distinctive purple color.
The researchers studied the colors of a group of organisms and minerals, and discovered that purple bacteria can use invisible infrared radiation for photosynthesis.
Last year, scientists found phosphorus, essential for life, in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, in what scientists considered a major support for efforts to search for life outside Earth.
This discovery, which was based on a study of data collected by NASA's Cassini probe, was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.
The Cassini probe explored Saturn, its rings, and its moons, from 2004 until its destruction in the gas giant planet's atmosphere in 2017.
“This is an amazing discovery in the field of astrobiology,” said Christopher Glenn of the Southwest Research Institute, one of the co-authors of the research work. He added: "We found abundant phosphorus in samples of ice columns ejected from the subterranean ocean."
The hot geysers at Enceladus' south pole spit tiny ice particles into space that feed Saturn's E ring, the furthest and thinnest of the giant planet.
Scientists had previously discovered minerals and organic compounds in ice particles released by Enceladus, but not phosphorus, an essential component of DNA and RNA that is also found in the bones and teeth of humans and animals, and even in ocean plankton. In fact, life as we know it could not exist without phosphorus.
Source : websites