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Scientist Picks a Gem of a Star

Posted by michael on from the unwarranted-assumptions dept.

UrgleHoth writes "According to a CNN report, the star Gem 37 is the most likely candidate for alien life. Astrobiologist Maggie Turnbull of the University of Arizona in Tuscon has taken a list of most likely habitable planets and stars. Gem 37 topped the list. The deciding factor? 'Gem 37, the 37th brightest star in the constellation of Gemini, came out on top because it looks most like our sun.' This work was done for NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder."

1 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Re:exo-biological marine life by barawn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oxygen in the atmosphere.

    Any significant amount of oxygen is almost certainly from something like photosynthesis. Oxygen's too reactive to stay in the atmosphere for any significant amount of time without something constantly generating it, and that's likely to be life.

    Now, before everyone jumps down my throat saying "You don't need oxygen for life! Oxygen is poison! It's extremely dangerous!" - they'd be right, and wrong (as many people are...). Oxygen IS very reactive and corrosive - but that's why life wants it around. Oxygen generates a lot of chemical activity and a lot of chemical potential, allowing for complicated reactions to happen. This isn't "Earth-centric", it's basic chemistry.

    And yes, even life in the ocean would likely generate oxygen in the atmosphere, and yes, it is possible to have life in the ocean WITHOUT oxygen in the atmosphere, but unless there's no solar insolation there at all, organisms that use sunlight will beat out those that don't virtually everywhere, and photosynthesis works best with oxygen involved in the process (to generate the many, many different oxidation potentials needed).