David Dubois, Researcher in Planetary Sciences at LATMOS and NASA answers questions of students on whether life exists in other planets, what are black holes. Read some of the most interesting questions answered by the expert.
1.Does life exist in any other planet? Will a time come when we can go to space for a holiday? Are there any chances of our planet getting destroyed? If so, whe're will our next destination be?
Currently, there have not been any detection or encounters of extraterrestrial life. The only life that we know is the one here on Earth. However, we have been able to track moons in our solar system and planets in other solar systems that could be habitable and host some kind of life -- especially the ocean worlds. In something like 5-7 billion years, the sun will have expanded so much that the Earth and Mars orbits will either be pushed away and become inhospitable to sustain life or completely eaten away by the expanding sun. In this scenario, the outer planets and icy moons might be the new attractive place to go to if we are still around!
2. How is it assumed that Jupiter is bigger than Earth? How can it proved without seeing it? How do the comets move without air in space?
—P Ahalya
Jupiter and its moons were really scientifically first studied by Galileo Galileo more than 400 years ago, through his telescope. He observed this very bright "star" that turned out to be a planet. You could fit roughly 1,300 Earth inside of Jupiter! One indication that Jupiter is so big is its gravitational influence on the solar system. Indeed, Jupiter regularly disturbs nearby objects like asteroids which has them enter an unstable orbit and get swung out of the asteroid belt. Some of these might even come close to Earth! Also just by looking at the angular size of Jupiter in the night sky (currently visible after sunset) can give you a sense of how big Jupiter is. Again, for comets, it's gravity that plays a big part in how object circle around the sun in more or less circular orbits. The lack of air is not a problem for objects to move freely, their kinetic energy is enough.
3. What are supermassive black holes? Will our Sun become a black hole one day? Which is the black hole that is nearest to Earth?
—Sneha R
Supermassive black holes are the largest types of black holes ever detected. Their masses range from hundreds of thousands to billion of solar masses. They are also thought to be present at the center of all large galaxies, like our own Milky Way Galaxy. The nearest black hole is thus the one at the center of the Milky Way. Only very large stars can eventually become black holes, but our sun is not large enough. It will become what we call a white dwarf in 4 billion years.
4. Some have made the argument that we are just wasting time on moon missions. This time should be devoted to more important mission of getting to Mars. How do you respond to people who feel there's not a case for the moon?
—Piyush Chauhan
I feel kind of sad to not see more funding and missions to our Moon and by extension other moons in our solar system. I think we still have a lot to learn and explore on our Moon. And going there first before going to Mars would make much more sense in terms of cost efficiency and reliability.
5. Could solar storms-induced electricity blackouts cost more than $ 40 billion to us?
—Ashok Seervi
Indeed Earth is not immune to solar storms. They have been occurring a lot recently and can impact tele-communication satellites. I am not sure about the figure you give but they can certainly cause havoc here on Earth as we depend so much on such satellites!
6. Do you think that the detection of gravitational waves by LIGO which confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity has opened an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos and will prove useful in further space researches?
—Himanshi Dhawan
Absolutely. To me, it seems like yet another discovery that gives more attention to our place in the vast universe. How amazing it is that billions of years ago, two black holes collided, creating these waves, traveling at the speed of light for billions of years. Then one day, a scientist does the math and predict their existence. 100 years later, the discovery is made of those very waves that traveled for all these years. How fascinating...
7. How did you build up your interest in Science field and what are your best experiences that you would like to share with us?
—Kashish Verma
I have always loved how Science challenges us. It has us question things around us. Anyone can be a scientist. The moment you start looking around and ask simple questions about your environment, trying to provide an answer for those questions, you are essentially being a scientist! My first love for science was through Earth sciences and geology. Above anything else I love being outside in nature and discovering new places. Questioning things around us and our place in the universe is science, but above all, it's also just us trying to understand our home a little better. Some of my best moments have been out in the field comparing features with those of icy moons, in the lab stumbling upon things I had not yet considered, by "accident", which actually turned out to be an actual result (as it is the case in the paper I am finishing right now).
8. I want to learn space cities' design/architecture is there any work going on in NASA in this field? Please tell how can I keep myself updated in this area.
—Pratishtha Batra
I believe there are people working on this at NASA Ames in California, and at the Open University in England. You can also log on to https://jplteamx.jpl.nasa.gov/ for more info or check the following video
9. When insects sit on a wire why do they get shock?
—Deekshitha K
If the cables are not insulated, they will certainly get shocked because all living being are conductive to the electrons passing by through their tissues!
10. NASA images goes viral of water art are they real?
—Prathmesh Amodkar
You may be talking about some of the artist concept views shown here https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/trappist1/ These are not real --just conceptions we have of how it could be on the surface, knowing that liquid water could be possible there.
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