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Astronomy and telescopes also improved to the point exoplanets can be confirmed and even studied, increasing the number of search places. Life may still exist elsewhere in the Solar System in unicellular form, but the advances in spacecraft allow to send robots to study samples in situ, with tools of growing complexity and reliability.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to extraterrestrial life: Extraterrestrial life – is any type of lifeform, from prokaryotes to intelligent beings, that is neither native of Earth or transplanted from it. So far, no extraterrestrial life has ever been found. [1]
This is a list of exoplanets within the circumstellar habitable zone that are either under 10 Earth masses or smaller than 2.5 Earth radii, and thus have a chance of being rocky.
Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.. Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and sustain an environment hospitable to life. [1]
Life in the atmosphere brown dwarfs was also discussed by Yates et al. in 2017, and in 2019 Manasvi Lingam and Abraham Loeb extended the discussion of Yates et al.. Both articles extend the viability of Earth-like biological life beyond planets. [8] [9] Their ideas were criticized by experts in brown dwarfs. [10]
Water is one of the simplest molecules, composed of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, and can be found in all celestial bodies of the solar system. However, water is only useful for life in a liquid state, and extraterrestrial water is commonly found as water vapor or ice. Liquid water also has several properties that are beneficial for lifeforms.
There are 7,408 known exoplanets, or planets outside the Solar System that orbit a star, as of January 26, 2024; only a small fraction of these are located in the vicinity of the Solar System. [2] Within 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years), there are 106 exoplanets listed as confirmed by the NASA Exoplanet Archive.
Planetary habitability in the Solar System is the study that searches the possible existence of past or present extraterrestrial life in those celestial bodies. As exoplanets are too far away and can only be studied by indirect means, the celestial bodies in the Solar System allow for a much more detailed study: direct telescope observation, space probes, rovers and even human spaceflight.