There may be extra-terrestrial life present on far-off exoplanets 

The celestial world is always full of surprises. One such has been from far-off exoplanets that may be harbouring extra-terrestrial life. This has recently been found by astronomers based at the University of California. 

For those unaware, exoplanets always have one side facing its star (permanent day side) and the other side always dark (permanent dark side). The area in between is now being deemed as the “terminator zone” (diving line between the two) where both potential extra-terrestrial life and habitable climates can be discovered, says the latest study published in The Astrophysical Journal.  

Sources cite that the terminator zone may be home to liquid water (as the region is neither too hot nor too cold in celestial terms, and has just the right temperature) and is fairly common among exoplanets, that exist around stars that fill up 70 per cent of the night sky and are called M-dwarf stars. Interestingly, they are relatively dimmer than our Sun. Anyhow, if there is liquid water, so is extra-terrestrial life, as the former is a vital ingredient for life.  

In contrast, the lit side (facing the star) may be too hot for water to exist, while the dark side (facing away from the star) may have temperatures that freeze the water around. So, if life has to be present on exoplanets, it has to be along the terminator zone, and nowhere else. After all, it is neither scorching hot nor covered in ice.  

What is more fascinating is that, to display their new findings, the astronomers have created a 3D model of the exoplanets, a process primarily used to study the Earth. Moreover, this is the first time astronomers have been able to demonstrate that such exoplanets too can sustain habitable climates as well as life. Earlier, these exoplanets were thought to be devoid of water, but recently, the Hubble and James Webb telescopes of NASA have shown that even though they might not have visibly large water bodies, they must have smaller ones, such as lakes, which promise the existence of life. Besides, they also have a equal land areas, thus making it similar to the Earth and exhibiting ideal conditions to sustain extra-terrestrial beings.  

As you can probably imagine, this study has thus opened a variety of options for life-hunting astronomers who can now prove that alien life doesn’t only exist in science fiction but in the real world. How cool is that!