The Extended Habitation Zone
Written By
Andy Lloyd

We still don't know for sure whether there is life on Mars. The Viking landers searched for the signs of life but the results of the experiments on soil samples on the Martian surface were ‘inconclusive’ (1). The famous meteorite ALH 84001, discovered in the Allan Hills of Antarctica in 1984, seemed to contain evidence that life once existed on Mars. These findings remain controversial. Our hopes and fears about confirmation of the existence of Extra-terrestrial life have been inextricably entwined with the search for life on Mars.

But there are other possibilities in the solar system. This expansion of the habitable zone has occurred because biologists have been able to show that life is able to withstand extreme conditions with unexpected ease (2). The discovery of veritable ‘oases’ of water scattered widely through the solar system has increased the potentialities further. The 4 major moons of Jupiter are ‘warmed’ by the gravitational influence of the gas giant, and, among them, Europa almost certainly boasts a liquid water ocean below its icy crust (3). The tidal effect produced by the parent planet opens up some new possibilities, and has shown that our previous assumptions about what constitutes the habitable zone around a given star have been ‘oversimplified’ (4).

So what chances would there be for Europa’s ocean if Jupiter were located further away from the Sun? The major moon of Neptune is called Triton. It has no atmosphere to speak of, and lies at the edge of the planetary zone around our Sun. Its surface is laden with dark organic materials and nitrogen ices, some of which appears to have occurred as snowfall near the equator. It is simply too frigid at this distance for Triton to hold onto an atmosphere, despite tidal warming by Neptune. Any atmosphere it might once have had precipitated out onto the surface as ice (5). Life might still find a way in some warm volcanic vent, but this is hardly a hospitable environment for complex alien life. Perhaps, then, this marks the boundary of life potential for the solar system. I would argue that this is not so.

Our knowledge about what celestial bodies lurk beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto is still in its infancy. As the distances from the Sun become ever greater, our ability to detect dark bodies ‘out there’ diminishes rapidly. The Harvard astrophysicist Matthew Holman recently noted that ‘a body the size of Mars 200 A.U. away could easily have escaped detection to date’ (6). Given that one Astronomical Unit (A.U.) is the distance between the Sun and the Earth, then this is a considerable distance indeed. Another planet could be orbiting the Sun beyond this point and we could still be none the wiser, despite our incredible advances in detection methods. As the distances increase further, the potential for an even larger undiscovered planet rapidly increases with it.

There is indirect evidence that a body greater in mass than Jupiter is orbiting the Sun. It has been termed the ‘Perturber’ because of its alleged effects upon comets within the Oort Cloud. It may be sufficiently large to fall into the category of ‘failed stars’ known as brown dwarfs (7-9). These bodies are too small to have become stars, and may have been splintered off-shoots of stellar matter ejected from primordial star systems. They burn brightly when young, and are termed ‘light emitting planets’ at this stage (10), but quickly become dark planetary ‘embers’, warm bodies that emit little or no light. Nevertheless, since astronomers first started detecting brown dwarfs directly, their levels of stellar activity have been surprising (11).

It was once thought that life could exist on a brown dwarf owing to the warm conditions that would be prevalent (12). This idea has been discredited, but it has been acknowledged that life might be possible on a moon orbiting a brown dwarf (13). The moon would be warmed by gravitational tidal effects as well as the warmth emitted directly by the failed star itself. So if the ‘Perturber’ were to be detected directly it could open a new chapter in the search for life in the solar system. Even at the distances from the Sun involved, a small brown dwarf among the comets could provide a habitable environment on its moons.

Although such a planet has evaded detection, similar entities have been found orbiting neighbouring stars. Often the orbits of these ‘extra solar planets’ are eccentric. Yet they can remain an intrinsic part of stable planetary systems (14). Could a brown dwarf in our solar system also exhibit eccentric behaviour? Surprisingly perhaps, a small brown dwarf could actually move directly through the solar system without disrupting the other planets. Computer simulations have shown that a planet as massive as 10 Jupiter's would have no discernible effect upon the other planets if it moved among them (15).

Let us imagine for a moment that a brown dwarf moved through the solar system and became a visible phenomenon in the heavens. Perhaps the brown dwarf has an orbit similar to a comet, for instance. Brown dwarfs shine with a red flame, despite their name. They are also known to be more active when in the company of a parent star. In a way, our dark ember would be re-lit during this close passage by the Sun, akin to a ‘perihelion’ transit of a comet. It would ‘flare up’, becoming ever brighter as it approached the Sun.

This red star's corona or ‘halo’ would be subject to the Solar Wind, and would be swept back from the Sun. Perhaps this would give the brown dwarf the appearance of a bright red fire bird in the sky, its swept back corona appearing as wings. Like the mythical Phoenix, the brown dwarf would have been re-born from its dark embers, to enjoy a fleeting movement through the heavens, before returning to the darkness of the comet cloud. Unless this planetary Phoenix approached too close to one of the other planets, life would go on in the solar system as if nothing had ever happened.

This scenario forms the basis for a remarkable exploration of ancient mythology called the Dark Star Theory (16). The theory expands on the research conducted by Zecharia Sitchin 25 years ago regarding the writings of the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia (17). It offers a strong scientific base for the existence of an unknown planet termed ‘Nibiru’, or the celestial ‘ferry’ (18). This planet was described by the Babylonians as a ‘red star…that bisects the heavens’ (19), and as the ‘Celestial Lord’ greater than all the other planets. How could the ancients have known of such a planet if it had not passed through the solar system during historical times? They had no telescopes to seek out the dark star among the comets.

As we have seen, a massive planet in a comet like orbit is consistent with modern science, and would offer conditions on its moons conducive to life. Ancient mythology is full of references to the enigmatic ‘Winged Disc’ whose inner planetary disc is red. If the ancients were recording a celestial event that was widely observed at some point, or points, in our past, then the astronomers need only to continue to search the heavens. It is awaiting discovery. It may also provide a greater potential for life than Mars ever could.

You can contact the Author of this Article at the following e-mail address: andy3751@hotmail.com

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