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"This groundbreaking discovery of Mercurian glaciers extends our comprehension of the environmental parameters that could sustain life."
Scientists have discovered that salt glaciers may exist on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun and the solar system's smallest world. The discovery could show that even the most volatile conditions in the inner solar system may occasionally echo conditions found on Earth.
The team's findings complement recent discoveries that revealed Pluto has nitrogen glaciers. As Pluto exists on the far side of the solar system, the two discoveries imply that the glaciation extends from the hottest regions of the solar system, close to the sun, out to its frigid outer limits.
Even more exciting, scientists from the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) believe that these salt glaciers might create the right conditions for life, similar to some of the extreme environments on Earth where microbial life flourishes. "Specific salt compounds on Earth create habitable niches even in some of the harshest environments where they occur, such as the arid Atacama Desert in Chile," research lead author and PSI scientist Alexis Rodriguez said in a statement. "This line of thinking leads us to ponder the possibility of subsurface areas on Mercury that might be more hospitable than its harsh surface."
www.space.com
Scientists have discovered that salt glaciers may exist on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun and the solar system's smallest world. The discovery could show that even the most volatile conditions in the inner solar system may occasionally echo conditions found on Earth.
The team's findings complement recent discoveries that revealed Pluto has nitrogen glaciers. As Pluto exists on the far side of the solar system, the two discoveries imply that the glaciation extends from the hottest regions of the solar system, close to the sun, out to its frigid outer limits.
Even more exciting, scientists from the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) believe that these salt glaciers might create the right conditions for life, similar to some of the extreme environments on Earth where microbial life flourishes. "Specific salt compounds on Earth create habitable niches even in some of the harshest environments where they occur, such as the arid Atacama Desert in Chile," research lead author and PSI scientist Alexis Rodriguez said in a statement. "This line of thinking leads us to ponder the possibility of subsurface areas on Mercury that might be more hospitable than its harsh surface."
Mercury is home to exotic glaciers of salt, and they may host life beneath them
"This groundbreaking discovery of Mercurian glaciers extends our comprehension of the environmental parameters that could sustain life."
