A groundbreaking study suggests that a real-life “Jurassic World” could potentially exist on another planet, shedding light on the possibility of alien species resembling Earth’s dinosaurs. Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal, the study challenges the idea of habitable planets being much closer than we think.
Lead author Lisa Kaltenegger revealed, “Our current understanding of habitable planets has been heavily influenced by Earth’s distinct light fingerprint, but there was a time when this fingerprint was even stronger, making signs of life easier to detect.” The study proposes that other planets may have harbored complex life forms similar to dinosaurs due to higher oxygen levels during that time.
Today, Earth’s oxygen levels have dropped to 21%, but during the dinosaur era, it was around 30%. This suggests that planets with similar oxygen levels could potentially host life forms resembling the dinosaurs. Scientists are now equipped with the tools to search for planets in a Phanerozoic stage, which would allow for the presence of large and complex life forms.
Rebecca Payne, a scientist from Cornell University, expressed optimism about the study’s findings, stating, “The Phanerozoic encompasses nearly all of the time in which life was more complex than microbes and sponges, giving us hope that signs of life, even large and complex life, might be easier to detect elsewhere in the cosmos.”
Kaltenegger also highlights the importance of searching for planets with higher oxygen levels as a strategy for discovering interesting life forms. “Hopefully we’ll find some planets that happen to have more oxygen than Earth right now because that will make the search for life just a little bit easier,” she said. “And, who knows, maybe there are other dinosaurs waiting to be found.”
The study’s groundbreaking findings open up new possibilities for the search for extraterrestrial life, challenging our understanding of habitable planets and redefining the potential for discovering life forms beyond Earth. Read more at: https://nypost.com/2023/11/18/lifestyle/real-life-jurassic-world-may-exist-on-other-planet-study/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
