Scientists propose an intriguing possibility: Dinosaurs, extinct for more than 65 million years, could still thrive as aliens on distant planets.
Research published in the Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society hints at the potential existence of dinosaurs beyond our planet and hints at our ability to encounter them.
The study argues that investigating compounds not present on today’s Earth, but which existed during the dinosaur age, could yield important revelations.
One crucial factor that scientists consider crucial in this groundbreaking quest is oxygen. While current oxygen levels on Earth are around 21 percent, this reached 30 percent during the dinosaur era. This higher oxygen concentration theoretically facilitated the dominance and longevity of dinosaurs on our planet.
The study speculates that if distant planets harbor similar oxygen levels, conditions could be conducive to the existence of alien dinosaurs in those environments.
Study co-author Lisa Kaltenegger said in a statement: “Modern Earth’s light fingerprint has been our template for identifying potentially habitable planets, but there was a time when this fingerprint was even clearer – better at showing signs of life.”
She adds: “This gives us hope that it might be just a little easier to find signs of life – even large, complex life – elsewhere in the cosmos.”
One clue that could unlock this discovery scientists are looking for is signs of a Phanerozoic stage on a planet where creatures like dinosaurs could evolve.
The study’s lead author, Rebecca Payne of Cornell University, said: “The Phanerozoic is only the most recent 12 percent of Earth’s history, but covers almost all of the time when life was more complex than microbes and sponges. These light fingerprints are what you would look for elsewhere if you were looking for something more advanced than a single-celled organism.”
If they manage to find these conditions on other planets, Kaltenegger believes it could lead to the discovery of dinosaurs never before found on Earth.
“Hopefully we will find some planets that currently have more oxygen than Earth, because that will make the search for life a little bit easier,” she said. “And who knows, there may be other dinosaurs waiting to be found.”
