Even if the planetary systems discovered so far lack Earth-like worlds. Scharf's work makes a strong case that the moon systems of gas giants could also sustain life.

The current count is 163 planets orbiting 97 main-sequence stars, of which only one is even remotely Earth-like.

http://www.physorg.com/news65376545.html

I'd have to say, Enceladus makes this theory very plausible.

I agree, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4895358.stm

But my money is still on the Jupiter moon Europa. Spectrographic evidence suggests that the dark reddish streaks and features on Europa's surface may be rich in salts such as magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), deposited by evaporating water that emerged from within. A likely explanation of this is that there is a large, subsurface ocean of liquid salt water. It has been suggested that life may exist in this under-ice ocean, perhaps subsisting in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents or the Antarctic Lake Vostok.

Did anyone say alien fish?

If there are alien fish on Europa, it would sure go a long way to support the notion that life is very possible elsewhere in the galaxy as well. Really cool article, hazzard!

If a gas giant is in the habitable band around its star, than if it had a large enough moon, it is certainly possible to believe that life could form on it, as long as it had liquid water or some other solvent.

Just take a look at Ganymede. Although mass-wise, it is less than Mercury, the moon is still nearly the size of Mars. A moon in the habitable zone of the same size would probably be more massive, since a large part of it wouldn't consist of ice.

Alien fish huh? Well, better Alien fish than no Aliens! This is really extraoridnary! I have read a lot about Europa and I definately believe this possibility is true.

Who knows what kind of life has developed in this under-ice ocean! Do you think the fish would be like our earth fish? or something totally new and not of this world? I suppose they could look like anything.. I guess noone can really say..

Nice article Haz

Given the theories about Europa and Titan being life-friendly moons, it makes sense to me that similar environments wold be possible on exo-planet moons, too.

Extremophiles in Space? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophiles

By definition, most of the habitats on Earth are not extreme. Extremophiles are the exception, rather than the rule. And yet when we search the solar system for biology, we expect that if there are alien life-forms nearby, they will most likely be analogs to Earths extremophiles. This is simply because, whether youre talking about aquifers beneath the cold, ultraviolet-stung sands of Mars, or the deep, salty seas of Europa, youre describing environments as brutal as they come. Most of your local flora and fauna would perish straight-away in these nasty niches. But Earths extremophiles some of them could be transplanted to such otherworldly habitats and never look back.

The fact that extremophiles may be our oldest living relatives here on Earth suggests that these highly specialized organisms can appear quickly, and do so in the hellish environments that would exist on many young solar system worlds.

It is, in fact, currently fashionable to argue that life on Earth may have begun, not in Charles Darwins warm little pond, but in a seething, scalding and turbulent sub-ocean geyser, where chemical reactions run fast and hard.

Extremophiles, a biological curiosity here on Earth, could represent the most frequent form of life in the universe.

Saturn's Moon Encladus is also said to possibly have an under-ice ocean capable of life. It is is locked in a 1:2 resonance with Dione (similar to the situation between Io and Europa).. So.. theres another possibility of a habitable moon..

Enceladus was in the news recently, this Saturnian satellite seems to be a giant Slurpee an icy moon that, thanks to tidal heating, is spouting geysers of water into space. An unexpected entry in the horse race of habitability, Enceladus is the first other world for which we have convincing evidence of liquid water. And where theres liquid water......

i think life on europa, when evolved, could look like the deep sea creatures we have in our ocean

Why not, Europa is somewhat similar in bulk composition to the terrestrial planets, being primarily composed of silicate rock. It has an outer layer of water thought to be around 100 km thick (some as frozen ice upper crust, some as liquid ocean underneath the ice), and recent magnetic field data from the Galileo orbiter shows that Europa generates an induced magnetic field by interacting with Jupiter's field, which suggests the presence of a subsurface conductive layer which is likely a salty liquid-water ocean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa#Exploration_of_Europa

Yes nice one Hazz, and what in the name of God would an alien fish look like.

I'm probably one of the few on this board that say there is going to be no signs of life what so ever on any of these exoplanet moons that we know of.

just my opinion and my gut feeling.

Thanks everyone, and as far as what "they" might look like, well, we will just have to wait and see.

Unless SETI gets lucky, I think and hope that we might find "something" in our own solarsystem. Lets just hope that we are all still around when that day comes.

Well, I really wanna know what lies beneath the frozen surface of Europa but Nasa hasn't put anything in for a Europa expedition in their 2007 budget. So, maybe in the coming years there will finally be one.

I don't really know how though, they could contaminate Europa with micro-organisms and disrupt everything.. I don't know how they can avoid this but I've heard there will be a melting probe or something of that nature that will melt through the ice until it is in the ocean of Europa and then it will release a quote "Hydrobot" to explore it.

But how are they gonna keep from contaminating it?

Maybe our contaminated microbes will actually evolve in the ocean of europa and in the billions of years to come evolve into a new species of life.

I don't know, it might disrupt the life that is hopefully already there. Nasa will somehow have to keep from cantaminating it.

On another note, I see you play StarCraft! StarCraft is my favorite game of all time.

Yes it would be a terrible blow if our microbes actually wipe out any life even the simplest of life off the face of the planet.

and yes starcraft is mine also lol

I see a few wondering what life might look like on another planet, a quick search will turn up the excellent Vids "Alien Planet" and "95 Worlds and Counting"

Alien Planet gives an intelligent idea of how life might evolve elsewhere, 95 Worlds and counting gives an overview of the Moons in our Solar system (pertains to this thread). The great special effects make these two flicks highly entertaining and a great watch. Many from this thread will enjoy I am sure.

I seen something on The Discovery Channel about how other planets could look such as vegetation and inhabitants.. It might have been "Alien Planet" for all I know. It was really awesome though, best show ever.

I'd say it will be sometime before we find advanced planets such as those we speak of, basically our closest hope at this point is the sub-surface oceans of Europa and Encladus which are brought up over and over again in this thread.

Search for threads by cinders. Worth the download (Page 2 ATM I think) 95 worlds will expand this topic greatly

Titan is worth a mention those Ice Volcanoes are stunning. Makes an amazing landscape.

NASA is very careful with this issue. Since the Viking missions in 1976 it has decontaminated all Mars landers before launch. In addition, when it became clear that Europa could support life, NASA ensured the the Galileo Jupiter orbiter burnt up in Jupiter's atmosphere before the craft died. This was done deliberately so that Galileo could never impact Europa. Cassini will undergo the same fate in Saturn's atmosphere so that it can not contaminate any of Saturn's moons.

Ah, well, taking the "theory" of evolution into consideration, alien fish could very well mean that they could very well evolve into even bigger beings, yes?

Well yea, makes sense. I assume the ice oceans of Europa are evolving as we speak. Small beings, little beings.. everything in between. I can't wait to see if there is actually anything in the oceans of Europa or Encladus.

I hadn't read much on Titan's Ice Volcanoes but I will, that sounds interesting. I do know it is too cold on Titan for any form of liquid, thus means no life. There is a lot of methane though, methane oceans are a possibility.

The latest evidence from Cassini suggest that what was thought to be methane oceans are, in fact, dune fields. See this thread in the Space & Astronomy forum: Titan's Seas Are Sand

Thanks for heads-up Waspie, you never miss a beat. That's really a great little peice of info. Thanks!

I guess there is water there afterall, just no oceans..