This is where the story transcends geology and enters the realm of philosophy. If life can arise in a place as remote, dark, and frozen as the interior of a tiny Saturnian moon, then the old habitable zone model is far too narrow. The universe isn’t limited to producing life on sun-drenched, Earth-…
This is where the story transcends geology and enters the realm of philosophy. If life can arise in a place as remote, dark, and frozen as the interior of a tiny Saturnian moon, then the old habitable zone model is far too narrow. The universe isn’t limited to producing life on sun-drenched, Earth-like worlds orbiting at just the right distance from a star.
Instead, any icy moon with a subsurface ocean—heated by tidal forces, enriched by rock-water chemistry—becomes a candidate. And there are ma