Water Ice
In a land far-but-not-super-far away, astronomers have spotted something that we’ve only ever seen in our own solar system: water ice clouds.
Earth has these clouds, and so do Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; these planets also all have atmospheres. The fact that we’ve discovered water ice clouds on an object outside our solar system is a big step for being able to detect atmospheres elsewhere.
Finding water ice clouds on this specific brown dwarf, named WISE J085510.83-071442.5, isn’t too exciting in itself. Brown dwarfs are technically stars but are more comparable to large, gassy planets, such as Jupiter. Aside from potentially having an atmosphere, this failed star isn’t too hospitable for life — its temperatures only get about as hot as your (working) dorm oven, meaning it doesn’t really have a surface for life to form on.
So why are astronomers so excited about this discovery? Because it’s a huge step in the search for life.
Can life form anywhere? Nope, not at all. If it could, we’d be having intergalactic barbecues with Martians and moon people. It’s very hard for life to form. Scientists believe there are some very specific requirements for life, which they have identified by looking at life on Earth. One of those is having an atmosphere. If we can spot atmospheres outside of the solar system, we may someday be able to conclude that there is life on those planets/brown dwarfs, too.
Besides an atmosphere, there are a few other things scientists have defined as necessities for life. Probably the most important is a few certain chemical elements to get life started on the most basic level. Life also needs an energy source, such as the sun, and it needs water. Finally, where an atmosphere comes into play, life needs stability. There are also some theories that Chipotle is a requirement for life, though scientists have yet to prove this for sure.
Although this discovery alone isn’t a huge deal, in the grand scheme of searching for life, these water ice clouds are very important. Plus, they’ve brought us a little closer to figuring out if E.T. is really as nice as he seemed.
