00:04When planets are too close to the star they orbit, something absolutely life-ending happens.
00:09The star siphons all of the planet's resources away from it, including all of its water.
00:14But now experts at the University of Cambridge in the UK say maybe planets might have a way
00:18of preventing that from happening. They've now outlined a way in which planets might still
00:22harbor life, even if they're too close to a star, by hiding all of their water underground.
00:26It's not an absolutely outlandish idea by any stretch. After all, Earth has billions of gallons
00:31of water hidden under the surface in aquifers. But this will add a more complicated method of
00:36searching for planets with possible life, as underground water will no doubt be more difficult
00:40to detect, with the researchers writing, quote, the model gives us an upper limit on how much
00:44water a planet could carry at depth, based on these minerals and their ability to take water
00:48into their structure. This would give us a lot of insight not only into our own planet's birth
00:52and eventual demise, but also answer a lot of questions we have about Venus. Venus is
00:56a lot like Earth, it just happens to have been born too close to the Sun. But if this new
01:00model is true, it could mean Venus had a wild and possibly wet history, with the researchers
01:05adding, quote, if that happened, Venus must have found a way to cool itself and regain surface
01:09water after being born around a fiery sun.
Comments