Alien Life on Saturn's Moon: New Study Strengthens Possibility That Life Form May Exist on Titan
A new scientific study strengthened earlier claims that there is a possibility of alien life on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, discovered that the surface of Titan possesses conditions that may allow the development of life forms.
Chances of Alien Life on Saturn's Titan
Last year, a team of chemical engineers and astronomers from Cornell University claimed that alien life is possible on Saturn's moon because of its Earth-like characteristics. Aside from Earth, Titan is the only known place in the universe that has a surface formed by rainfall, rivers and lakes. Scientists believed that this surface could allow the existence of alien life beyond the limits of water-based chemistry.
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In a recent study published at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, a new set of researchers from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University supplied more evidence to support the claims of their colleagues that alien life is possible on Saturn's Titan.
Titan is a very cold place, and in order for alien life to exist, there should be a presence of enough energy. The new study suggested that there might be sufficient energy on the giant moon. The researchers figured out that the cloudy atmosphere of Titan might be capable of absorbing energy from the faint sun.
Saturn's Titan Might Have Enough Energy to Allow Alien Life
NASA's Cassini and Huygens missions have discovered that hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a major component to the emergence of life on Earth, is present in the atmosphere of Saturn's Titan. Several studies proved that HCN could lead to the formulation of long chains or polymers called polyimine.
According to the recent study, polyimine is a chemical that is efficient in absorbing sunlight. This may enable the so-called "prebiotic chemistry," which could confirm the existence of alien life on Saturn's Titan.
"It turns out, different conformations of this material absorb different wavelengths of light, including wavelengths that are accessible on the surface of Titan," Martin Rahm, one of the study's authors, told Gizmodo. "This could provide energy," he stated.
Rahm added that their study will be a major breakthrough if they could prove that there is indeed "prebiotic chemistry" on Saturn's Titan. He, however, said that the recent study is just the first step toward proving the existence of alien life on the giant moon.
