Scientists find dwarf planet near Mars that might be hosting alien life
A dwarf planet near Mars might help researchers detect alien life in space, as a recent study points towards the presence of organic matter on that planet in abundance.
The planet is called Ceres and is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
It was in 2017 that the presence of organic matter was first detected on the planet. But now it has been revealed that the presence is more widespread than earlier thought.
"The organics were initially detected in the vicinity of a large impact crater, which is what motivated us to look at how impacts affect these organics," Terik Daly, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and leader of the study, said in a statement.
"We are finding that organics may be more widespread than first reported and that they seem to be resilient to impacts with Ceres-like conditions," Daly added.