Dinosaurs went extіпсt more than 65 million years ago on eагtһ, but scientists think they may still live on some other planets.
Illustration photo: iStock
According to new research published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”, planets far from eагtһ may be home to dinosaur-like ѕрeсіeѕ on eагtһ. Not only that, humans have the ability to find them.
“The light signature of modern eагtһ is the template by which we identify potentially habitable planets,” explains study author Lisa Kaltenegger. But there was a time when this trace was very clear, showing more clearly signs of life.”
According to the study, experts on eагtһ could detect such life by looking for compounds that are no longer present on our planet, but existed during the time of the dinosaurs. That’s because during the time of the dinosaurs, eагtһ had higher levels of oxygen, around 30%, allowing complex organisms to thrive. Today, oxygen levels on eагtһ have leveled off at 21%.
They think that high oxygen level of 30% could be a clue to the type of life that exists on a distant planet. In addition, special telescopes can be mobilized to detect environmental factors similar to what dinosaurs experienced millions of years ago.
Scientists can focus on looking for clues as to whether a planet is in the Phanerozoic stage or not. This period would allow the planet to support large and complex life forms.
“The Phanerozoic period accounts for only about 12% of eагtһ’s history, but it includes almost all of the time when life was more complex than bacteria and sponges,” says scientist Rebecca Payne at Cornell University.
This therefore gives hope that signs of life – even large, complex life – can be found elsewhere in the universe.
According to Ms. Kaltenegger, finding planets with higher oxygen levels could lead to the discovery of interesting life forms, while also making the search for dinosaurs easier.
This scientist hopes that we will find some planets with more oxygen than eагtһ right now. And what’s more, there could be dinosaurs up there.