Earth’s Closest Exoplanet Neighbor Could Potentially Support Alien Life

Barnard's Star b

Called Barnard’s Star b, new research into the planet suggests that the heat created by the geothermal process on the planet could, in fact, be warming pockets of water beneath the planet’s surface.

Anyone in the space community will tell you that this phenomenon could indeed provide the planet with the factors needed for life to evolve on Barnard’s Star b.

Led by Edward Guinan and Scott Engle of Villanova University in Pennsylvania, with 15 years of data at their disposal, the research duo does believe the planet may still be too cold for liquid water, yet, there still may be subsurface oceans lurking on the planet.

Only a six light year trip from our solar system, Barnard's Star is one of the closest single stars to our own sun. Discovered in the 1970’s it wasn’t until November 2018 that researchers discovered the massive exoplanet, and it is big. Barnard's Star b is 3.2 times bigger than Earth, orbiting similarly to Mercury in our solar system.

With its frigid temperatures of minus 170 degrees Celsius, the planet resembles that of Jupiter’s Europa. So why is this place so exciting for scientists?

Alien Life

Yes, most of Barnard’s Star b could, in fact, be a frozen wasteland. Nevertheless, a planet of this size, called super earths to have the ability to have “extra geothermal activity”, energy that could be melting some areas of the icy wasteland.

Interestingly you do not have to look too far to witness this phenomenon. Antarctica has a similar environment with hundreds of ice covered lakes melted by heat radiating from the Earth’s own core. Researchers have even found life in these frigid environments and Barnard’s Star b could have something going on under its icy surface.

Barnard’s Star b is currently a major priority for researchers as much is still not known about the planet and most ideas about the planet are still a hypothesis.