Jeremy Schnittman, an astrophysicist who works with NASA has claimed that alien life can be discovered on a planet that might be orbiting a black hole. In his recent study report, Schnittman revealed that black holes might provide the energy for life to sustain, in the same way, the sun gives energy to the earth.
NASA scientist inspired by Christopher Nolan's Interstellar
In the 2014 space movie 'Interstellar', the protagonist played by Matthew McConaughey goes in search of a planet where humans can survive. Scientists, in the film, discover a planet that is orbiting a black hole, and it has the potential to sustain life. During the research, Schnittman analyzed the real-life possibility of this concept.
In his study report, now available in the arXiv journal, Schnittman revealed that accretion discs, made up of materials and objects orbiting a black hole could be the key factor that allows life to thrive. The friction generated by these discs will produce energy, and it will play a crucial role in providing sufficient resources for life to evolve.
"On the downside, the Sun provides almost all the energy necessary for life on Earth to survive. Without its constant heat flux, the oceans would likely freeze over in a matter of days. But we also know that many astrophysical black holes can provide their own energy source, in the form of radiation from hot, accreting gas. So one could naturally imagine that replacing the Sun with an accreting black hole might not be the end of life on Earth after all," said Schnittman, Express.co.uk reports.
Can humans locate alien life near a black hole?
Even though the possibilities of alien life near a black hole are pretty high, it will be a mammoth task for humans to discover extraterrestrials on planets orbiting these dark entities. The nearest black hole to earth is located 6,523 light-years away, and this single factor makes these planets unassailable for humans.
However, as technology progresses, and if humans achieve the advancement of traveling interstellar travel, it may be one day possible to explore the mysteries of these alien worlds.
