Scientists have discovered signs of life on the dwarf planet Cerer, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
According to Invers.com, under the ice surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, which is the largest object in the asteroid belt of the solar system, several underground water bodies with salt water and hydrocarbons are hidden.
In particular, hundreds of square kilometers of the area covered with a layer of organic chemicals called aliphatic compounds were discovered around one of the largest craters of Ceres Ertunet. The authors of the study suggest that these aliphatic components may have risen to the surface relatively recently, since these molecules are quickly destroyed under the influence of cosmic radiation.
Planetologist from the National Institute of Astrophysics of Italy Maria Christina de Sanctis, together with her team, conducted experiments with organic chemicals, similar to the fact that on the dwarf planet Ceret.
Scientists came to the conclusion that organic compounds from the crater of Ertunet could begin to form no later than 10 million years ago. At the same time, the results of the study showed that these organic compounds could not exist on the surface for a long time, which indicates their recent appearance. The modeling during the experiment also showed that the detected organic compounds did not come to the surface of the ceres with an asteroid, but formed deep under the surface. Thus, this discovery makes Cerer, in particular, the territory around the crater of Ernetet, a promising place to find life.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.