Life of the Sun. The Sun is the closest star to us in our galaxy Solar life

But instead of extinct, dead stars, new ones flare up... Matter cannot be destroyed, it passes from one type to another. But from these general and, probably, correct reasoning, we, the people of the Earth, need to move on to reasoning about the inevitable death of the Sun, and therefore the Earth.

According to modern ideas, the “life” of stars like our Sun is 10-12 billion years. It is believed that the Sun has already “worked out” half of this period, which means that half of the hydrogen fuel has already been burned in its depths. As you can see, it is rightly said that everything in the world comes to an end. If we talk seriously about the end of the world, i.e. about the end of life on Earth, then this can happen much earlier than the moment when our Sun finally goes out or (at the stage of death) it increases its size so much that the Earth’s orbit becomes smaller than the diameter of the Sun with all the ensuing consequences. Reasons for this more than enough. So, today we will get acquainted with hypotheses about how our Sun will die.

Modern science believes that the Sun can exist for another 5-6 billion years, and for hundreds of millions of years it will remain stable, as it appears at present. But changes, of course, will occur and gradually affect the Earth and humanity. Assumptions about exactly what changes will occur to our Sun and how they may end have been made by scientists based on the results of observations of similar stars going through various stages of their development. Some hypotheses have been born recently as a result of computer modeling of numerous options for the possible behavior of our Sun at the stage when it gradually exhausts its reserves of nuclear fuel.

Observations of the star, designated by astronomers as object NEG 7027, showed that it is in the final stages of its existence. Not all processes occurring on this “dying, agonizing” star can be explained with confidence. But what is observed is as follows. The star began to pulsate, causing the outer layers of the star's atmosphere to dissipate and create a shell around it that spreads over millions of kilometers. If this happens to our Sun, then the boundary of its gas shell will go much further than Pluto (!). The mass of the star decreases rapidly during this period. The gas in the star's envelope consists mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules. Complex hydrocarbon molecules are also present.

In parallel with the formation of the outer shell, processes are also taking place in the central part of the star: the surface temperature rises above 200,000 ° C, and radiation of enormous power comes from the core of the star, including ultraviolet radiation, which ionizes the atoms of the shell and destroys its molecules. This phase of a star's existence is very short, perhaps only about 1000 years, i.e. just an instant by galactic standards, after which the star will disappear, turning into a gas cloud. The star currently observed, NEG 7027, appears to be right in the middle of this final death phase. Probably, processes on our Sun will follow the same pattern in the future.

Astrophysicists believe that in 1.1 billion years, the temperature of the Sun's surface and its brightness will increase by more than 10%. This can cause an increase in the concentration of water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to the emergence of such a rapid greenhouse effect that humanity and the animal world simply will not have time and will not be able to adapt to. With this development of events, our planet will become very similar to Venus.

Since the intensity of ultraviolet radiation increases as the Sun ages, this will lead to an increase in the ozone content in the Earth's atmosphere. It is known how this can threaten humanity and the animal world.

An increase in the brightness of the Sun will lead to the melting of ice in the polar regions of the Earth and an increase in the level of the World Ocean, and an increase in water evaporation will cause an acceleration of the water cycle. Winds will become stronger and soil erosion will increase. Scientists' calculations show that, as a result of these processes, the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere will decrease in 900 million years so much that the plant world may die or degenerate to such an extent that it will be of little use for human and animal nutrition, and this will create, perhaps, insurmountable difficulties for earthly civilization. In another few billion years, ultraviolet radiation will gradually destroy the stratosphere and evaporate the oceans. The Earth will turn into a bare, silent desert, and the Sun will still shine above it, heating up the lifeless surface on which life born of the same Sun once flourished.

What will happen next to the Sun? It is known that the source of star energy is the processes of thermonuclear fusion taking place in the star’s core. When the hydrogen fuel runs out, the core contracts greatly. According to the theory, after the compression of the core of solar-type stars, the outer layers expand in two stages. The first stage occurs when the core contracts and its temperature becomes higher than in the stable period. An increase in core temperature ensures the synthesis of helium, and at the same time stability is restored for some time. The stellar core becomes less compressed, and the outer layers become less wide.

The star's reserves of helium fuel are quickly consumed, and after they are completely used up, the core contracts again and the outer layers re-expand. The star becomes a supergiant with a luminosity significantly higher than that of the original star.

One of the hypotheses assumes the ability of the Earth, through self-regulation, to maintain environmental parameters on its surface for a sufficiently long period and under conditions of increased brightness of the Sun. But upon closer examination, this hypothesis is unlikely to turn out to be tenable. In fact, what properties does living matter need to have in order to exist in conditions when the luminosity of the Sun will be several thousand times greater than in our time? Namely, this maximum luminosity is expected for the Sun in about 7.5 billion years. Calculations by astrophysicists show that in the last stages of development the Sun will lose a large amount of its mass and its radius will increase to 168 million km, which far exceeds the distance of 150 million km at which the Earth’s orbit is currently located. The orbits of the planets Mercury, Venus and Earth will change under these conditions, and the planets, moving in a spiral, will fall into the Sun and be destroyed. This will happen, as already mentioned, in 7.5 billion years.

As a consolation, some scientists report that new calculations show that this will happen to Earth about 200 million years later than to Mercury and Venus. But eventually the Earth's surface will heat up to such an extent that life on it will become impossible.

New calculations show the following development of events:

The sun loses its mass, its gravity decreases. As a result, the orbit of Venus will increase from 108 to 134 million km, but this will not save Venus. The trajectory of its movement will quickly be distorted due to the proximity of the Sun, and Venus will fall into the center of the Sun and scatter across the disk of the star.

The Earth's orbit will slowly increase and as the Sun's gravity weakens, turning into a red giant, the Earth will move beyond its outer atmosphere. The distance from the Sun to the Earth will increase to 185 million km. This will save her from falling into the Sun. But by this moment the Earth will look like Mercury, i.e. it will be a scorched, scarred block with a dry bottom of the former oceans. 70% of the Earth's sky will be occupied by the red Sun, because The Earth's orbit will be separated from the surface of the Sun at a distance not exceeding 1/10 of the solar radius.

It will avoid falling onto the Sun and Mars, which will move along an expanded orbit. Further, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto will rotate in expanded orbits. The matter released by the Sun during its death forms a so-called planetary nebula, the density of which will be negligible. Therefore, this nebula will not have an impact on the planets remaining in their new orbits.

All these processes will occur in the very distant future. Humanity, or what it is transforming into over an unimaginably huge period of time, will leave the planet long ago or die out. It is likely that in the future our planetary system will be devoid of life. But it cannot be ruled out that evolution will lead to the emergence of new, non-human forms of intelligent life after the departure or change of our species. Scientific hypotheses in this case may well be combined with fantasy, the boundaries of which do not exist.

We know, it would seem, everything that can be known from visual observations about the Sun and its “life”. Multiple sources seemed to provide comprehensive information. Everything is built on the previously proposed hypotheses.

Its birth, the processes occurring today on the Sun and its decline of “life” are described. If we consider existing theories about the origin, life and end of the existence of the Sun, then multiple illogicalities, far-fetchedness and simply inconsistencies with objective realities and logic are revealed.

The first is the birth of a STAR.

The main hypotheses about the origin of stars state that a dust and gas cloud is necessary in the initial stage of star formation. We can agree with the word “dust,” but gas, as an aggregate state of matter, cannot exist. At low temperatures, and in space this is -273 degrees, any gas can only be in a solid state and it will no longer be a gas, but the same dust, or a solid substance of any form. In fact, cosmic dust is not the source of the formation of planets and stars.

The appearance of dust in space is associated with cosmic disasters that occur during enormous collisions of two or more cooled cosmic bodies. The result of such a collision can be a cloud of dust and small fragments, like the collision of a clay plate and a bullet during clay pigeon shooting.

It is further assumed that over time, cosmic matter is concentrated at one point, due to the ever-increasing gravity of the newly formed body. Further, with an increase in its volume and mass, the pressure inside increases. As you know, all planets and stars have the shape of a ball, i.e. the most rational geometric shape.

And if the body, as the existing theory says, is formed from fragments of the environment, then only a shapeless object can turn out, and not a ball. Only a body in a liquid state can acquire this form. At the same time, inside the body, according to the theory, there should be a rise in temperature due to increasing pressure to such an extent that this should provoke the occurrence of a thermonuclear reaction inside the resulting body and, thereby, ignite a new star.

A similar process cannot occur in space, because... Our universe is in constant dynamic equilibrium. In order for the process of mass concentration to begin at one point, additional resistance to the movement of space objects, which does not exist in space, or the external influence of other bodies participating in the general movement is necessary.

Dynamic equilibrium in space is determined by the mutual, established over time, interaction of all participants in the movement. It is difficult to imagine that, for example, the asteroid belt could ever turn into a large object such as a planet.

Or the solar system will change its established parameters, unless some troublemaker arrives from the depths of space and collides with one of the planets. But even after this, everything will balance out, and calm will reign again.

Artificial satellites in orbit do not change their motion parameters, which is due to the equality of Earth's gravity and the centrifugal force arising from the speed of their movement in orbit. Further, the pressure inside the body can increase, provided that the body is liquid. Therefore, if this body is solid, it must certainly be cold.

With the concentration of mass arising from surrounding particles of matter located at a low temperature of space, no increase in pressure inside the body occurs, because the body is solid, and, as a result, there cannot be an increase in temperature. This is confirmed by deep mines.

The rock in them does not heat up. As a conclusion, such a path for the birth of a star has no basis and is false.

The second is the life of a star as a luminary.

The hypothesis states that the source of life for a star as a luminary is a thermonuclear reaction.

Today science knows two sources that can release huge amounts of heat and that could support the life of a star as a luminary. This is the reaction of nuclear fission and the reaction of their fusion. The first is represented by the atomic bomb, and the second by the hydrogen bomb. A hydrogen bomb, with the same parameters as a nuclear bomb, is much more powerful and uses the thermonuclear fusion reaction.

The working fluid of a hydrogen bomb is hydrogen, mainly in the form of deuterium (heavy hydrogen, symbolized D and 2H is a stable isotope of hydrogen with an atomic mass of 2.) or tritium (superheavy hydrogen, symbolized T and 3H).

Spectral analysis of solar radiation shows that the Sun consists of hydrogen (~73% of mass and ~92% of volume), as well as other elements. This is what concerns the photosphere. Therefore, it was concluded that a thermonuclear reaction takes place there, with the participation of hydrogen, and the Sun will cease to exist when all the hydrogen “burns out.”

This is where the inconsistencies and illogicalities begin. The sun has the following temperatures: on the surface of the sun - 5726 degrees Celsius C°. Corona temperature ~1,500,000 C°. Core temperature ~13,500,000 C°.

As practice has shown, to carry out a thermonuclear explosion, it is necessary to heat deuterium to a temperature of 50,000,000 C° and create enormous pressure. Such parameters are provided by an additional nuclear charge, which serves as a detonator in a hydrogen bomb, including a thermonuclear reaction. Only under such conditions will the reaction of fusion of hydrogen nuclei begin.

But the above temperatures on the Sun cannot in any way create such conditions. And it turns out that thermonuclear fusion on the Sun is impossible. And now, predicted by official sources, the phase of the life of the Sun should come, when all the hydrogen will burn out (hydrogen does not burn in the Sun, but is converted into helium) and our star will turn into a “red giant”, which will absorb and destroy most of the Solar system.

It seems that the author of such a hypothesis is a big fan of sitting by a dying fire, when in the night a red glow is formed from the dying coals, visible far away. But what can burn out after the thermonuclear reaction that kept the Sun alive as a luminary ceases?

Naturally, the Sun will not have any organic matter and oxygen capable of causing such a red glow, much less growing to colossal volumes. Further, after the “red giant” cools, a planetary nebula with a “White Dwarf” inside (the remnant of the Sun’s core) is formed.

The Sun, having lost most of its mass, will no longer be able to hold the surrounding planets of the current solar system with its gravity, and the entire system will “sink into oblivion.”

But there, on the Sun, after all, something really “burns”. But what?

I will try to present my vision of the “Life Cycle” of the Sun, like any other star.

Stars in space belong to one galaxy or another and are not an individual creation. The origin of galaxies, in my opinion, is not a consequence of the initial explosion, according to the singularity theory. This theory itself is more like a fairy tale, only its authors are not only dreamers, but also part-time scientists.

The science of the origin of the universe today is moving along the path of searching for the basis of the foundations of the universe - the “Higgs Boson”. For this purpose, on October 21, 2008, a solemn ceremony of the official opening (inauguration) of the “Large Hadron Collider” took place, on the border of Switzerland and France, conceived as a tool with the help of which the “Boson” would be discovered.

In fact, the world's largest particle accelerator was built. But it will still not be possible to realize the idea of ​​searching for, as they say, “a particle of God,” although the receipt of one has already been announced.

Nobel Prizes were received, presentations were made, but, in fact, the collider produced another particle, unknown to today's science. A collider, along two counter-circuits, can accelerate elementary particles to the speed of light in each circuit. The energy released as a result of the collision of particles will be the result of the addition of their two velocities.

But this result contradicts Einstein’s famous formula - E=mc2, although this formula itself is not a phenomenon, but a special case of the definition of centrifugal force, F = mv2/r,provided there is a radius of rotation equal to infinity (i.e. a straight line).

As can be seen from the above, to obtain mass (m), i.e. the “Higs Boson”, the square of the speed of elementary particles is required, and not the sum of them, which can be provided by a collider.

And so back to the main topic. How, after all, could galaxies consisting of stars or any nebulae be formed? It is possible, with a sufficient degree of reality, to assume that in space, at super-giant distances, there exist galaxies that are not visible with currently existing space observation instruments.

There is no biggest and smallest in the world, i.e. two opposite infinities. As a result of some cataclysms from two (or several) distant galaxies, large masses of matter were ejected and met in a certain part of the universe. For clarity, let’s imagine two groups of kids opposing each other, playing snowballs.

Snowballs flying in opposite directions often collide with each other and are mutually destroyed. Traces of such destruction will depend on the speed of oncoming snowballs, their mass, the hardness of the material (for our story - these are molten bodies or cooled objects) and the method of collision: head-on, with offset centers, tangentially to varying degrees.

From the traces of the collisions that occurred, one can judge the nature of the colliding bodies. If two cooled bodies collide, then depending on the displacement of the center of mass upon impact, different shapes of nebula will be formed. If two liquid (molten) masses collided, in which thermonuclear processes took place, then galaxies are formed, consisting of “splashes” of colliding bodies, which became stars that filled these galaxies.

In this case, galaxies of completely improbable types were obtained, taking a certain shape depending on the type of collision. All this variety of galaxies is presented in pictures on the Internet on this topic. If liquid and solid (cooled) masses collide, then galaxies with mixed compositions of substances included in the colliding masses are formed.

In this case, depending on the size of the colliding masses, systems can be formed in which the cooled mass significantly exceeds the liquid mass. Naturally, the solid mass will be destroyed less than the liquid mass and the liquid fractions will begin to rotate around the solid mass. Such systems are today identified as galaxies with “Black Holes”.

“Black holes,” in all likelihood, are galaxies orbiting a giant cooled body in which the nuclear fission reaction has stopped. “Black Holes” is another near-scientific fairy tale. This theory was abandoned by its creator, Stephen Hawking.

Now let's move directly to the Sun.

Some sources on the origin of stars mention the presence of a large amount of uranium in the composition of stars (around 26%). In a liquid medium, this also applies to the molten mass of the Sun, the process of stratification of the mass substance into fractions according to specific gravity is constantly underway. You can perform the following experiment to confirm this idea.

Let's take a tall, transparent vessel and fill it with a clear liquid (for example, mineral oil with high viscosity). Let's make several balls for the experiment, the same size, from different materials. The main difference between the balls is their atomic weight (carbon - 12, aluminum - 26, iron - 55, silver - 107, lead - 207, uranium - 238).

Let's throw all these balls into a vessel with oil at the same time. The heaviest ball will reach the bottom of the vessel first, and the lightest one will reach the bottom last. A similar process of stratification of materials is used in the smelting of cast iron. Slag on top, cast iron on bottom.

In the molten mass of the Sun there is a constant process of mixing the substance due to convection currents.

Uranus, falling down, begins to concentrate in a certain place in the volume of the Sun. When a critical mass is reached (somewhere in the region of 50 kg), a chain reaction is started in a given place and an atomic explosion occurs. Such explosions occur constantly and in large numbers, which leads to heating of the solar matter, and a “boiling” process is observed on its surface.

A decrease in the intensity of atomic explosions in some place, identified as Sunspots.

Powerful emissions periodically occur in the sun, which are called prominences. Their origin can be explained by the fact that conditions periodically appear on the Sun under which the reaction of fusion of hydrogen nuclei (thermonuclear reaction) occurs and an explosion similar to the explosion of a hydrogen bomb occurs. The flow of ejected plasma, in turn, bends under the influence of the magnetic field lines of the Sun.

Each star has a certain luminosity, that is, the amount of energy released per unit time. Science has not yet explained in any way the reason for such a large difference in the luminosity of stars (yellow star, white, blue, etc.). The luminosity of a star is determined by the temperature on the surface of the star. According to the hypothesis I have proposed, this can be explained simply.

The degree of luminosity depends on the amount of uranium in the mass of the star and, as a consequence, on the intensity of atomic explosions in its depths. The theory of stratification of matter in a liquid medium can be confirmed by an example, inexplicable today, of such a phenomenon as the deep hypocenter of an earthquake, which is sometimes recorded at depths of more than 700 km.

At this depth there is a liquid medium, and there is no way to explain this phenomenon by some kind of friction of solid masses. The maximum thickness of the earth's crust is 75 km. Sometimes deep earthquakes occur in the oceans, where the thickness of the earth's crust is only 6–9 km. If you use my theory, then deep earthquakes can be easily explained.

The same concentration of uranium occurs at a certain depth and when it reaches a critical mass in one place, an atomic explosion occurs, identified as the location of the hypocenter.

The Sun is the only star in the Solar System; all the planets of the system, as well as their satellites and other objects, including cosmic dust, move around it. If we compare the mass of the Sun with the mass of the entire solar system, it will be about 99.866 percent.

The Sun is one of the 100,000,000,000 stars in our Galaxy and is the fourth largest among them. The closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is located four light years from Earth. The distance from the Sun to planet Earth is 149.6 million km; light from a star reaches in eight minutes. The star is located at a distance of 26 thousand light years from the center of the Milky Way, while it rotates around it at a speed of 1 revolution every 200 million years.

Presentation: Sun

According to the spectral classification, the star is a “yellow dwarf” type; according to rough calculations, its age is just over 4.5 billion years, it is in the middle of its life cycle.

The sun, consisting of 92% hydrogen and 7% helium, has a very complex structure. At its center there is a core with a radius of approximately 150,000-175,000 km, which is up to 25% of the total radius of the star; at its center the temperature approaches 14,000,000 K.

The core rotates around its axis at high speed, and this speed significantly exceeds the outer shells of the star. Here, the reaction of helium formation from four protons occurs, resulting in a large amount of energy passing through all layers and emitted from the photosphere in the form of kinetic energy and light. Above the core there is a zone of radiative transfer, where temperatures are in the range of 2-7 million K. This is followed by a convective zone approximately 200,000 km thick, where there is no longer re-radiation for energy transfer, but plasma mixing. At the surface of the layer the temperature is approximately 5800 K.

The atmosphere of the Sun consists of the photosphere, which forms the visible surface of the star, the chromosphere, which is about 2000 km thick, and the corona, the last outer shell of the sun, the temperature of which is in the range of 1,000,000-20,000,000 K. From the outer part of the corona, ionized particles called the solar wind emerge. .

When the Sun reaches an age of approximately 7.5 - 8 billion years (that is, in 4-5 billion years), the star will turn into a “red giant”, its outer shells will expand and reach the Earth’s orbit, possibly pushing the planet further away.

Under the influence of high temperatures, life as we understand it today will simply become impossible. The Sun will spend the final cycle of its life in the “white dwarf” state.

The sun is the source of life on Earth

The sun is the most important source of heat and energy, thanks to which, with the assistance of other favorable factors, there is life on Earth. Our planet Earth rotates around its axis, so every day, being on the sunny side of the planet, we can watch the dawn and the amazingly beautiful phenomenon of sunset, and at night, when part of the planet falls into the shadow side, we can watch the stars in the night sky.

The sun has a huge impact on the life of the Earth; it participates in photosynthesis and helps in the formation of vitamin D in the human body. The solar wind causes geomagnetic storms and it is its penetration into the layers of the earth's atmosphere that causes such a beautiful natural phenomenon as the northern lights, also called the polar lights. Solar activity changes towards decreasing or increasing approximately every 11 years.

Since the beginning of the space age, researchers have been interested in the Sun. For professional observation, special telescopes with two mirrors are used, international programs have been developed, but the most accurate data can be obtained outside the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, so most often research is carried out from satellites and spacecraft. The first such studies were carried out back in 1957 in several spectral ranges.

Today, satellites are launched into orbit, which are observatories in miniature, making it possible to obtain very interesting materials for studying the star. Even during the years of the first human space exploration, several spacecraft were developed and launched aimed at studying the Sun. The first of these were a series of American satellites, launched in 1962. In 1976, the West German Helios-2 spacecraft was launched, which for the first time in history approached the star at a minimum distance of 0.29 AU. At the same time, the appearance of light helium nuclei during solar flares, as well as magnetic shock waves covering the range of 100 Hz-2.2 kHz, were recorded.

Another interesting device is the Ulysses solar probe, launched in 1990. It is launched into a near-solar orbit and moves perpendicular to the ecliptic strip. 8 years after launch, the device completed its first orbit around the Sun. He recorded the spiral shape of the luminary's magnetic field, as well as its constant increase.

In 2018, NASA plans to launch the Solar Probe+ apparatus, which will approach the Sun at the closest possible distance - 6 million km (this is 7 times less than the distance reached by Helius-2) and will occupy a circular orbit. To protect against extreme temperatures, it is equipped with a carbon fiber shield.

Jupiter's second largest moon, Europa may at first glance appear too far from the Sun to be a good candidate for life. But Europe has two special features: lots of water - more than on Earth - and some internal heating, thanks to Jupiter's tidal forces. Beneath its ice surface, Europa stores a vast ocean of liquid water, and the heating of its interior due to Jupiter's gravity could create a situation strongly reminiscent of the life-giving hydrothermal vents at the bottom of Earth's oceans. It is unlikely that life on Europa will be similar to what we have on the surface of the Earth, but life that can survive, reproduce and evolve will still be life, whatever you call it.

One of the most intriguing - and least resource-intensive - ideas for searching for life in Enceladus' ocean is to launch a probe through the geyser eruption, collect samples and analyze them for organic matter.

Enceladus

The icy satellite of Saturn is smaller than Europa, and there is less water on it, but under its surface there is a unique liquid ocean (under a kilometer thick layer of ice). And it spews giant plumes of water into space. These geysers let us know that there is liquid water there, and when combined with other elements and molecules necessary for life, such as methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide, there could well be life beneath the oceans of this world. Europe is warmer, it has more water, which means - we think - more chances. But don’t write Enceladus off, because its icy surface is thinner and its eruptions are much more spectacular. Therefore, we will be able to find life with an orbital mission, and we won't even have to drill into the surface.

Dry rivers signal water-rich Mars in the past

Mars

Once upon a time, the Red Planet was very, very similar to Earth. During the first billion years of the solar system's life, water flowed freely across the Martian surface, carving rivers and accumulating in lakes and oceans, leaving clues that help us today. Features associated with an aquatic past, such as beads of hematite (which, incidentally, are often associated with life on Earth), are quite common. In addition, the Curiosity rover found an active underground and variable source of methane, which may indicate life surviving today. Today, we know that liquid water is still present on the surface of Mars, albeit in a very salty form. But is there life on Mars? Was it there at all? We still have to find out.

Titan's surface beneath the clouds contained methane lakes, rivers and waterfalls. What about life?

Titanium

Enceladus could be the most likely home for life in the Saturn system, if we did not assume that it could be of an extraterrestrial type. Perhaps life is different from the biological systems we are used to on Earth? With an atmosphere that is denser than our planet, the second largest moon in our solar system - Titan - stores liquid methane on its surface: oceans, rivers and even waterfalls. Could life use methane on another planet the same way it uses water on Earth? If the answer is yes, then organisms could live on Titan today.

The surface of Venus, captured by the only spacecraft to successfully land and transmit data from this world

Venus

Venus is a living hell. The temperature on the surface is close to 482 degrees, so no device could survive more than a few hours after landing on this hot planet. However, it is hot not because of the surface, but because of the dense and carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, covered with warm blankets of sulfuric acid. The surface of Venus is obviously completely unsuitable for life, but life is not only possible on the surface. If you rise to a height of 100 kilometers, in the upper layers of the clouds of Venus the environment is surprisingly similar to that on Earth: the same temperatures, pressure, less acidity. It may well be that, with its own unique chemical history, this environment is filled with carbon-based life.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft took this color photo of Neptune's moon Triton on August 24, 1989, from a distance of 550,000 kilometers. This image was composed of images passed through green, violet and ultraviolet filters

Triton

You've probably heard almost nothing about Neptune's largest moon, but it is the most amazing and unique among all the worlds in the solar system. Black volcanoes “smoke” on it, it rotates completely incorrectly and appeared from the Kuiper belt. Larger and more massive than Pluto and Eris, it was once the king of all Kuiper belt objects, and now, orbiting the last planet in our solar system, it exhibits the presence of many materials important for life, including nitrogen, oxygen, frozen water and methane. ice. Could some form of primitive life exist in these energetic wilds? Quite!

This world map shows the surface of Ceres in rich colors, spanning infrared wavelengths beyond the human visible range

Ceres

The very possibility of life existing on this asteroid may seem strange. But when asteroids hit Earth, we find not only the 20 amino acids necessary for life, but also 100 others: the building blocks of life are everywhere. Could the largest asteroid of them all, displaying white salt deposits at the bottom of its bright craters, actually boast life? While the answer is “probably not,” it is worth remembering that it was collisions between asteroids and Kuiper belt objects that provided the raw material for primitive life to emerge on Earth. Although today we admit that active biology could have appeared even before the formation of the Earth. If so, signatures of life could be locked up on worlds like Ceres, which is considered a prime candidate for the search for life. You just need to take a closer look.

Pluto's atmosphere captured by New Horizons

Pluto

Who would have expected that the farthest planet from us in our system - whose temperature is close to absolute zero - would become a candidate for harboring life? Yet Pluto has an atmosphere and extremely curious surface features. It has ice like Triton and something resembling the Earth's atmosphere and ocean. What about life? New Horizons has provided us with a wealth of information, but to be sure, we need to plan a mission to Pluto that will land on its surface.

We have always thought that we were alone in both the solar system and the unimaginable universe, and yet this is just a side effect of the search for life like us. If we go out and explore all the possible places to live, we may not only find a familiar life, but also an unfamiliar one. There is a possibility, and it is not zero. Whenever we felt hopelessly alone, the Universe had an incredible way of cheering us up.