The likelihood of discovering extraterrestrial life outside of the Milky Way is increased by the possibility that there are many more Earth-like planets with liquid water, as The Independent said quoting the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Liquid water may still exist under the surface of a planet even if the conditions are not favorable for life there, according to the study revealed at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Lyon, France.
There are two basic techniques to create enough heat to cause water to liquefy below, even if the planet’s surface remains frozen.
The scientists called into question a period on Earth a few billion years ago as an example, when the surface liquid water was fully frozen yet the water underneath the surface was not entirely solid.
Water might have existed in liquid form in some locations on earth during this period in Earth’s history, thanks to the heat produced by radioactivity deep within the globe.
Dr. Lujendra Ojha from Rutgers University said that despite the extreme cold, vast subsurface lakes of liquid water may still be found. These lakes are kept warm by radioactivity. “Even today, we see this happening in places like Antarctica and the Canadian Arctic.”
According to certain data, this may potentially be occurring right now at Mars’ south pole.
Researchers have discovered that several moons in our solar system, including Saturn’s Europa, hold significant amounts of liquid water beneath the surface despite containing surfaces which are completely frozen.