It is possible that there are extraterrestrial beings that breathe hydrogen! Alien Life: A Novel Approach

We will probably look at the gases in its atmosphere the first time we look for signs of life on a planet orbiting another star (an exoplanet). As the number of known Earth-like planets increases, we may soon discover gases associated with life on Earth in an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

But what if alien life has a different chemical than ours Expanding our search beyond planets like ours to include those with a hydrogen atmosphere, according to recent research published in Nature Astronomy, increases our chances of finding evidence of life using atmospheres.

The atmosphere of an exoplanet can be studied as it passes in front of its star. Light from the star must pass through the planet’s atmosphere to reach us during the transit, and some of it is absorbed.

The gases that make up the atmosphere are revealed by looking at the star’s spectrum (light divided by wavelength) to determine what light is missing due to transit. One of the long-delayed missions of the James Webb Space Telescope is to document extraterrestrial atmospheres.

The presence of biological activity is one of the most fundamental interpretations of an environment with a chemical composition that differs from what we anticipate. This is the current state of affairs on the planet. Methane (CH4), which naturally combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, is found in our planet’s atmosphere. Biological activity, on the other hand, ensures that methane is never lacking.

Another way to look at it is that if photosynthetic bacteria had not released oxygen from carbon dioxide during the so-called “great oxygenation event” 2.4 billion years ago, oxygen would not exist at all.

Take a look outdoors in places with a lot of oxygen.

The authors of the new study propose that we begin to observe planets larger than Earth that have hydrogen-dominated atmospheres. There may not be free oxygen present since hydrogen and oxygen are such a combustible mixture.

In 1937, fire destroyed the hydrogen-filled Hindenberg airship. On a planet with an oxygen-free hydrogen atmosphere, such a conflagration would be impossible. Murray Becker of the Associated Press contributed to this photo.

Hydrogen is the lightest molecule in the universe and can quickly escape into space. A rocky planet with enough gravity to support a hydrogen atmosphere would have to be a “super-Earth” with a mass two to ten times that of Earth.

The hydrogen could have arisen from a chemical process involving iron and water, or it could have come directly from the gas cloud in which the planet formed.

The density of a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere drops 14 times slower as you ascend than a nitrogen-dominated atmosphere like Earth’s.

As a result, the planet’s atmosphere has a 14 times greater envelope, as seen in the spectrum data. We would have a better chance of seeing such an environment directly with an optical telescope if the environment had more dimensions.

In the laboratory, you breathe hydrogen.

The researchers used laboratory studies to show that E. coli bacteria (which can be found in the billions in the intestines) can survive and thrive in a hydrogen-only environment. They were able to show the same effect using a variety of yeast.

While intriguing, this adds nothing to the case that life can thrive in a hydrogen-rich environment. Many deep-sea bacteria already exist by metabolizing hydrogen, and there is even a multicellular species that spends its entire life at the bottom of the Mediterranean in an oxygen-free habitat.

Spinoloricus is a small multicellular species that does not appear to require oxygen to survive. The scale bar measures 50 micrometers in length.

It is highly unlikely that Earth’s atmosphere, which started out without oxygen, ever contained more than 1% hydrogen. Instead of mixing oxygen and carbon to make carbon dioxide, early life may have had to metabolize by combining hydrogen and carbon to make methane.

Gases that have a distinctive biosignature.

However, the study provided a remarkable result. According to the researchers, when E. coli products are exposed to hydrogen, they produce an “astonishing variety” of gases.

In a hydrogen environment, several of these, such as dimethyl sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and isoprene, can be detectable “biosignatures.” This increases the chances of finding life on an extrasolar planet, but only if we know what to look for.

However, metabolic activities using hydrogen are inefficient compared to those using oxygen. Astrobiologists, on the other hand, believe that hydrogen-breathing life is a well-established idea. Certain logic-based science fiction, such as David Brin’s Uplift trilogy, has featured sentient hydrogen breathers.

According to the study authors, molecular hydrogen can act as a greenhouse gas in large quantities. This could keep a planet’s surface hot enough for liquid water, and therefore life on the surface, for longer than it otherwise would.

The authors do not mention the possibility of life on giant gas planets like Jupiter. However, by expanding the group of habitable planets to include super-Earths with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, scientists have effectively doubled the number of worlds we can examine for the first signs of extraterrestrial life.