A study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics suggests that planets that are revolving around pulsars could actually facilitate life. Although considering that these planets are known to emit deadly gamma rays and X-rays, life could not be anything like that on Earth.
“The environment would be similar to the bottom of the sea on Earth capable of supporting life, but not for many organisms and especially not for humans,” according to an article published on the website Space.
Although pulsars are incredibly dangerous, planets have been discovered around them before.
The co-author of the study, Alessandro Patruno, an astrophysicist from Leiden University in the Netherlands, elaborated on the findings in an interview with Space.com.
“Despite emitting deadly particles and radiation, pulsars might have a habitable zone. … Such a habitable zone can be as wide as the one that exists around normal stars.”
Study co-author Mihkel Kama, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge in England, told Space.com that the atmospheric pressure on the surface of these planets is comparable to or even higher than the pressure in the Mariana Trench here on Earth.
“At 36,000 feet deep (11,000 meters) it is the deepest known point on Earth's surface,” Kama said.
"However, since we know that life exists in the depths of our ocean, some form of life might certainly exist in these high pressure and warm environments," Patruno said.
