Life on earth that will not be impacted if the sun disappears
When we look at the sky and think "Are we alone?", there is no need to look only for planets receiving sun light.
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In an article that was currently published in (in Norwegian), H氓kon Dahle writes about the possibilities for life to exist in cold and聽unhospitable planets that do not have access to sun energy. In fact, there are already on earth many ecosystems聽that are completely independant of sun light. Several hundred meters down inside the聽oceanic crust live microorganisms that grow on hydrogen gas, produced by the reaction between the crust and the seawater. Another example are聽deep hydrothermal systems on the seafloor, where microorganisms thrive by using the chemical energy present in the warm fluids emerging form the earth. Therefore, a planet with a warm core, volcanic activity and water has everything it takes to develop such ecosystems.
H氓kon and other researchers at the K.G. Jebsen Center for Deep Sea Research wish to learn more about how these deep microbial communities arise,聽develop, and impact their environment. Such research helps understanding which are the conditions required for life聽on earth, and therefore imagine where and how聽extraterrestrial life could develop.
