Gonzales, Analysa

9/7/2010

Life Finds a Way

For years, humans have been baffled by the mystery of the universe and its
history, from the time when it was first created, to the time when the first living
organisms began to form on our relatively small planet. Humans’ quest for knowledge
had led scientists to believe several different theories and to agree that the thought of
having life on other planets in our solar system seems unlikely, but is very much possible.
The Earth is approximately 93 million miles away from the sun, a seemingly ideal
and perfect distance, making the planet suitable to create and sustain life, within possibly
its most important part, the atmosphere. The two terrestrial planets closest to the sun are
Mercury and Venus. Mercury’s extreme temperatures can reach anywhere from 840
degrees Fahrenheit to -340 degrees Fahrenheit. Although Venus has an atmosphere, it is
made up of sulfuric acid and CO2, and the planet itself can become hotter than even
Mercury because of the absorption of heat of its atmosphere.
Mars, the fourth planet orbiting around the sun is much like Earth. It has an
atmosphere a lot like our own, and is also believed to have ice at both of its poles; water
is essential to all living organisms. Though Mars would seem a suitable home for alien
life forms, the pressure of its atmosphere is much greater than that of the Earth’s.
The planets outside of the asteroid belt, also known as the Jovian planets, are
mostly gaseous. Jupiter has storms the size of Earth, and some even greater, including the
famous “red spot.” However, two of the planet’s four largest moons are believed to be a
possible home to life. Europa, for instance, has a surface believed to be ice, covering an
ocean of water, and lo is a volcanically active moon. It is very unlikely that Neptune,
Saturn, and Uranus hold life due to their gaseous compositions and their distances from
the sun.
It is possible that life could exist somewhere else in our relatively small solar
system, or even in the billions of other galaxies. This is just one of the infinite amounts of
unanswered questions about the universe, but will hopefully be answered through the
advance of technology. If one small planet in one small system of orbiting planets could
harbor life, there is bound to be another like it, as life always finds a way.