NASA reported on possible life on the planet Ceres

A new study based on data from NASA's Dawn mission has shown that Ceres may have possessed a deep and long-lasting energy source capable of maintaining conditions suitable for life in the past. This was reported in the Astronomy magazine.

The Dawn mission has already confirmed the presence of liquid water in a subsurface saltwater reservoir and organic molecules containing carbon, which are the basic chemical building blocks for life. This new study has identified another important element: chemical energy, which could be a sustainable and long-term energy source for microorganisms, if such ever existed on the planet.

Ceres is the largest object in the main asteroid belt, a dwarf planet with a diameter of about 940 km. Despite the fact that it is currently extremely cold and its remaining liquid is extremely concentrated, cold salt water, these studies paint a picture of a much more dynamic and warmer past.

"On Earth, when hot water from deep underground mixes with the ocean, it often becomes a real feast for microbes— a real feast of chemical energy. If we can determine whether there was an influx of hydrothermal fluid in the ocean of Ceres in the past, this could be of great importance," said Sam Courville, a scientist and lead author of the study, who led the research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Researchers say that for a long time, ancient Ceres possessed three key ingredients for life as we understand it: liquid water, suitable chemical building blocks, and a proven source of energy. This is not proof that life ever existed on Ceres, but it confirms that there was a potentially habitable environment with the necessary conditions for life hidden deep beneath its surface.

It clarifies that these results may also shed light on other worlds in our Solar System that may have similar evolutions, including water planets in the outer part of the system that may have experienced habitable periods in the past before freezing.

NASA astronomers discovered a wandering black hole on May 13. For the first time, scientists have recorded an unusual event not in the center of the galaxy, but outside it.

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