Quote:
Originally Posted by Occam
Oh, well obviously I'm wrong and there IS life on Europa, living in the radiation free tropical paradise beneath the kilometres of ice. Who would have thought a personal opinion could be incorrect?  |
I think nobody claimed life is
likely to exist on Europe,
only that it may well be
possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3488
...The liquid ocean if it exists, will be extremely toxic...
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Don't forget that early Earth would have been toxic for most of today's life forms, too.
Oxygen, on the other hand, was toxic for most of the early life forms.
Toxic or not just depends on where your particular species feels comfortable
Quote:
Originally Posted by Occam
...I once read a story in which a planet itself became sentient. It was rich in silicon and other minerals and acted like a giant computer of sorts. You could argue that it was possible but hardly likely, and that's how I would view life developing on Europa.
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That's a bit 'unfair' as a comparison:
we don't know if a sentient planet is possible.
We do know that certain life forms could conceivable survive on Europe (if that ocean exists).