Will James Webb Find LIFE? | Earth Like Worlds With Continents and Oceans?
To many scientists the question of whether life exists outside of our own world has
had an easy answer… THERE HAS TO BE! Could the search for the first extraterrestrial
life be coming to fruition? As the James Webb Space Telescope
zeros in on nearby exoplanets, we may soon find out what’s really out there.
For many, it is not a question of if we will find life, it is a question of when.
The James Webb Telescope The most advanced space telescope ever just
became operational this year and has already begun to change how astronomers see the cosmos.
It is equipped with a HUGE number of specialized instruments designed to probe the depths of
space and see what is out there. This particular instrument will help
with one of NASA’s biggest goals for the James Webb Space Telescope, its mission to
hunt for exoplanets throughout our galaxy and determine what its elemental makeup is.
Not only is this telescope equipped to help astronomers find exoplanets,
but it also has additional sensors and instruments that will be able to read
the composition of the planet’s atmosphere, as well as reading its unique features.
The instruments that generated all the hype include Webb’s Near-Infrared
Spectrograph which is designed to gather information from the
lightwaves coming from its target to determine their chemical makeup.
Astronomers are now turning Webb’s focus towards the search for Earth-like planets
that may have everything necessary to support the evolution of life.
With the help of veteran planet hunter telescopes around the globe, we may be entering into a new
age of space exploration where the hunt for life is no longer a question of if we will find life,
but how much life will we find. Where James Webb is looking
New research coming out of Japan’s space agency is simulating the formation of planets around red
dwarfs and giving astronomers clues about where to look for the most likely hosts of life.
When planets form around red dwarfs, new models show that a small but noticeable
portion of these young planets will hold water levels and other features remarkably
similar to those of Earth. In fact, the models show that these
worlds may even have beaches that border their own salty oceans.
Planet hunters around the world with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, TESS,
and the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars, PLATO, will be on the lookout for
any exoplanet that fits their criteria. And once they are spotted, James Webb will
turn its inquisitive eye toward its target to pick up any information it can.
Once Webb gets to read the makeup of its atmosphere through its emissions,
researchers will be able to take that data and build an accurate picture of the properties
and features of the target exoplanet. It will be looking to identify any biosignature
on the planet such as elements, molecules, or any other characteristic that points towards
the presence of life either past or present. But what kind of signatures can point toward the
existence of life? Properties
of an Earth-like planet We all know that water has
an essential ingredient in the development of life on our planet.
Billions of years ago in the desolate oceans of ancient Earth, the first form of life emerged from
the primordial soup and eventually led to the emergence of all life that we see today.
But if Earth didn’t have exactly the right properties and wasn’t in the perfect position
in relation to the sun, it is likely that life would have never developed.
Even though water is a vital part of life here, if there was more water present when the Earth
was formed, that first form of life would have been snuffed out before it began.
Advanced models have shown that too much water in a planet’s atmosphere can kickstart EXTREME
greenhouse gas effects, heating the planet’s surface to unlivable temperatures regardless
of its distance from its host star. Too little water would also lead to a
lifeless world similar to Mars, an arid desert with little to support any form of life.
The current models show that the majority of planets fall into one
of these categories when they form. Scientists believe that only a tiny fraction
of planets that sit in the Goldilocks Zone around a red dwarf are born
with just the right amount of water. Using James Webb’s specialized instruments,
finding how much water is present in an exoplanet’s atmosphere will
be a much easier task. What Webb has already found
Given the information Webb has already collected, researchers are confident that finding the first,
genuinely Earth-like planet will happen by the end of this decade.
Before the James Webb telescope was completed, the hunt for exoplanets had been focused primarily
on finding exoplanets that are inhabiting the so called Goldilocks Zone of their host star.
This zone refers to the range of space around a star in which enough of the star’s heat and
energy reach the planet to keep it warm enough for life but not so much that
the surface is scorched and burned. But an exoplanet orbiting within a star’s
Goldilocks Zone does not mean that it is a viable candidate to search for life.
Researchers have so far discovered nearly five thousand exoplanets existing in the
Goldilocks Zone of their star, but there is only a small fraction of
them that could possibly support life. Many of them simply don’t have the necessary
chemical makeup or elemental components in order for life to emerge.
So historically, the hunt for exoplanets has had some major struggles with the
lack of technology available. Astronomers are hoping that with the
addition of James Webb into the field will give them a much-needed leap forward in the search
for extraterrestrial life. What will happen when we find an
Earth-like planet with life It is important to note that when
life is eventually found in another world, it may be as simple as a single-celled bacteria
or it could be as profound as finding another race of intelligent beings.
Other planets may also harbor life more similar to the EXTREME life that exists on our planet
that lives in the chemically, caustic pools of Yellowstone or the superheated vents
scattered across the ocean’s floor. But there is always the chance that when we
find life on another world, that life may be looking for us as well, what can we expect to
happen in that case? Will it be anything like the movies we have made about this exact scenario?
Will we be able to come together to share our knowledge and resources with each other,
or will the tendencies toward self-preservation win out?
Regardless, when any form of life is discovered on another planet,
it will not only teach us more about the universe and its evolution, but it will also help in the
understanding of our own existence and the life that grew from our own planet.
There are those who believe that technologically advanced civilizations do
not exist for long as they inevitably lead to self-annihilation as more powerful technology
and weapons become readily available. One scientist is quoted as saying “If we succeed
at detecting another technological civilization, that success helps tell us that on average,
technological civilizations can survive for a long time.”
So, finding another advanced civilization may show us that humanity can remain for long into
the future as we reach further and further into the depths of the cosmos.
Thanks for watching! Do you think the James Webb
Space Telescope will find evidence of life soon? Or do you think this evidence
will continue to elude our grasp? See you next time, on Matter!