Gabriel E. Colón Reyes: Life on Other Planets

Astronomy is the branch of physics that studies the science that deals with the moon, planets, stars and the universe beyond Earth, as defined by Word Reference. According to BBC News, recent astronomical studies have shown one of Saturn’s moons, Mimas, has been found to possibly have great amounts of water. It has been found that Mimas experiences a wobble-like behavior, which is thought to be provoked by a crater called Hercschel Crater, which is about one third of the size of this moon. However, it is not possible that this wobble-like behavior is produced by the collision of the asteroid that made said crater because this behavior is not proportional to the consequences of the crash of an asteroid the size of the crater. A hypothesis made by researchers is that Mimas has a subterranean sea. These researchers believe that Mimas has an ocean within itself. "When we saw this wobbling, the first thing we thought of was an ocean," said Dr. Radwan Tajeddine, one of the lead researchers of Mimas. This is one of the first speculations made of Mimas and could prove to be very important in further studies of it. Furthermore, Prof Chris Lintott, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford stated, "If the ocean is really there, we're getting to the point where it's just completely standard for icy moons to have substantial bodies of water inside - and that could have interesting implications for how many of these things could support life." With this, Lintott is inciting the idea that life could be possible in Mimas if many things were to fall in place, such as the availability of water and oxygen. This development is huge in the space industry because it raises the question, Could life be possible on this moon in Saturn? Studies have shown that water is one of the most important, if not the most important necessity of human beings. The fact that water is thought to be in this moon provides reason for studies of this moon and research opportunities of it. Scientists would most definitely want to know if life is possible in Mimas because if this were possible then it would revolutionize the way we think of space. If life could be possible in Mimas, why can’t it be possible in other asteroids or moons in space? This really is impressive because it is an alternative as a place to live in the occurrence of a cataclysmic event. Of course the way to get there would take time to develop, but just imagine! If Earth by any chance were to experience an event, which could lead to the death of much of humankind, this could be a feasible place for people to live in. If research deems this place worthy of human life, it could be possible to construct certain facilities on Mimas in order for humans to coexist with the environment of this moon. This is all speculation though, but the idea is just amazing. Much research is needed in order to prove these ideas true, but the reward of this would be humongous. It would literally be another place in space where people could exist without problems or lack of supplements from the environment. Of course, this is all contingent on the research and findings of studies in Mimas. Studies of Mimas take place in the present. 

References

- “Online Language Dictionaries." Astronomy. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. 

- Webb, Jonatahan. "Death Star Moon Is 'wonky or Watery'" BBC News. 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.