Harry Coumnas Talks about the Habitability of Solar System's Natural Satellites

When it comes to habitable environments within the Solar system, African astronomer Harry Coumnas feels that the focus should be more on natural satellites rather than the planets. There are several reasons for it, foremost being that natural satellites generally tend to outnumber planets & also it’s hypothesized that their habitability factors are most likely to be the same as those of the planets.

According to Harry Coumnas, there are a number of natural satellites in the Solar System which can harbor life; however the strongest candidate for habitability is Saturn’s 6th largest moon, “Enceladus”. It is a beautiful icy moon with the presence of many life-supporting elements such as water, organic molecules, etc. Talking about the surface of Enceladus, it is made of 99% water ice & has liquid water beneath it. One of the major factors that indicate the possibility of life on Enceladus is that it has a boiling core of molten rock that can result in a toasty temperature essential for life to evolve.

Besides Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, Harry Coumnas names a few other natural satellites which he believes to have the “potential for life”. Some of them are – Titan (largest moon of Saturn), Io (Jupiter's moon), and Europa (one of the moons of Jupiter). Apart from searching for habitable planets and satellites, he also plans to build residential communities & restaurants on them so that human beings get the chance to live outside earth. As an astronomer, Harry is widely known for his significant contributions to the world of astronomy. His biggest achievement so far is being able to create a device that can help understand the language of aliens and communicate with them.