US EditionCeres May Have Had Long-Standing Energy to Fuel Habitability
Research indicates Ceres's rocky core generated heat via radioactive decay, potentially sustaining a subsurface ocean with chemical energy for microbial life 2.5 to 4 billion years ago.
- NASA published on August 20 a study in Science Advances showing dwarf planet Ceres once had long-lasting chemical energy to fuel habitability.
- This research builds on NASA's Dawn mission , which detected organic carbon compounds and salt deposits linked to subsurface brine reservoirs beneath Ceres's crust.
- The study's thermal and chemical models indicate radioactive decay heated Ceres's rocky core when young, circulating hot water with dissolved gases about 2.5 billion years ago.
- Lead author Sam Courville noted the hot water mixing could have provided “food” for microbes and called this a finding with big implications for icy bodies throughout the outer solar system.
- Although Ceres is now cold with concentrated brines and unlikely habitable, the study suggests other small icy worlds could have had similar periods supporting microbial life long ago.
14 Articles
14 Articles
'Habitable' dwarf planet in OUR solar system had 'conditions for alien life', Nasa reveals
A dwarf planet in our own solar system may once have been habitable, new Nasa research has revealed.Ceres, which lies between Mars and Jupiter in the rocky Asteroid Belt, boasted a "lasting source of chemical energy" similar to that seen on Earth's deep seabeds.In 2020, scientists discovered that Ceres had an enormous reservoir of saltwater below the surface.**ARE YOU READING THIS ON OUR APP? DOWNLOAD NOW FOR THE BEST GB NEWS EXPERIENCE**But a n…
Ceres may have had long-standing energy to fuel habitability
New NASA research has found that Ceres may have had a lasting source of chemical energy: the right types of molecules needed to fuel some microbial metabolisms. Although there is no evidence that microorganisms ever existed on Ceres, the finding supports theories that this intriguing dwarf planet, which is the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may have once had conditions suitable to support single-celled lifeforms.
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