Discovery of "living conditions" on dwarf planet Ceres

While the search for alien life often focuses on the farthest reaches of the universe, NASA scientists have highlighted a closer target in a new study: Ceres, the dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter.

According to the research, Ceres had conditions that could have supported microbial life billions of years ago. Previous findings had shown brine lakes and organic carbon molecules beneath the planet's surface. However, for a long time, clear evidence of a nutrient supply, one of the basic requirements for life, was lacking.

New computer simulations have revealed that between 2.5 and 4 billion years ago, Ceres's interior was a veritable "chemical energy feast" for microscopic organisms, thanks to the heat generated by radioactive elements.

During this period, the temperature of the water near the planet's core exceeded 270 degrees Celsius and rose towards the surface, mixing with the cold water and carrying dissolved minerals and gases with it.

TOO COLD FOR KNOWN LIFE

"On Earth, the connection between hot underground water and the oceans often provides an energy source for microbes. A similar process may have occurred on Ceres," said Sam Courville, a researcher at Arizona State University.

In 2018, NASA's Dawn mission revealed that bright layers observed on Ceres's surface were formed by salts left behind after liquid seeped from the subsurface. However, today, these reservoirs are approximately -63 degrees Celsius (-63 degrees Fahrenheit), too cold for known life.

Professor Helen Williams, a planetary formation expert from Cambridge University, described the study as "exciting," saying, "This research suggests that water may have once existed on the surface of Ceres. Water carries and concentrates the elements necessary for life."

EXTINCTION BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO

According to the Daily Mail, scientists say Ceres' potential for life is now gone, as the radioactive heat source that provided the necessary warmth for life was depleted billions of years ago.

Ceres is also now completely frozen, having not been warmed by the strong gravitational pull of larger planets like Europa or Enceladus.

Despite this, the researchers emphasize that this finding opens a new door to the possibility of life in the universe. According to the study, small celestial bodies temporarily rendered habitable by their own radioactive heat may be much more common than previously thought.