Searching for life on another planet

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Becca. Neil, do you believe that life exists away from planet Earth?

Well, I'm not sure about the kind of little green men that you see in science fiction movies, but also, I think we cannot be alone in the universe. What about you, Becca? What do you think?

I agree, I think that maybe life does exist beyond our planet, but maybe not as we see in alien movies.

Well, in this episode, we'll be learning from science and space experts about whether the conditions for life exist on a planet 40 light years away.

Yes, and as usual, you can find a transcript for this episode, along with all the

OK, a quiz question for you, Becca. How long would it take to drive a car to the Sun at 100km an hour? Is it: a) 70 years, b) 170 years, or c) 1,700 years?

Well, Neil, the Sun seems very far away so I'll go for c) 1,700 years.

I hope you have enough petrol for that. Well, we'll find out the answer to the question later. Now, though, some science and space experts are excited about a planet in a different solar system from our own. Science journalist, Caroline Steele, talks about this discovery on the BBC World Service programme, What in the World.

So, scientists have been looking at an exoplanet. So, that's a planet that exists in a solar system that isn't our own, called TRAPPIST-1e, um, and it's a rocky planet like Earth. It's a similar size to Earth, and it exists in the habitable zone around its sun, and its sun is called TRAPPIST-1.

Caroline explains that scientists have discovered that the planet, TRAPPIST-1e, exists in the habitable zone around its sun. The adjective habitable describes a place or habitat that is suitable for something to live.

Yes, and a zone is an area with a particular feature. For example, people who live in earthquake zones have to be prepared for danger.

So, a habitable zone is an area where something could live. Caroline goes on to explain why they think TRAPPIST-1e may be habitable.

Scientists have been looking at the potential atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1e and they've ruled out that it's really full of hydrogen or carbon dioxide, which is a great thing because they're greenhouse gases, which would make the planet really hot. And there are some small clues that it might be a nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, which, again, is another sort of clue that there could be life there.

Caroline Steele says that scientists are looking at the potential atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1e. That is, that they want to find out if the atmosphere is capable or likely to become able to host life. If something has potential, it already has the qualities or abilities to do something. The adjective potential has a similar meaning but refers to future capability.

Exactly. We could say the data has potential in that it shows signs of helping the research. But when we talk about potential data, we're referring to data that could help us with future research.

She also mentions how scientists have ruled out that TRAPPIST-1e is full of hydrogen or carbon dioxide. The phrasal verb rule out means to dismiss the possibility or idea of something. Scientists have found that TRAPPIST-1e is not full of those greenhouse gases, they've ruled it out.

Indeed. And Caroline goes on to say how the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1e is dominated by nitrogen. If something is dominated by something else, it is controlled by it or is the most significant element of it. TRAPPIST-1e is full of nitrogen, which is exciting because nitrogen is a sign of life and habitability.

So, what if nitrogen is actually found on this planet? Caroline Steele has more.

My guess is what we'll do is try and see what other gases are in the atmosphere and use models to work out how warm the planet could be and whether or not it's a temperature that basically could support life, or maybe it's too hot or too cold, but fingers crossed it has nitrogen. There's enough of it to keep the planet a decent temperature. And then that's one step closer to finding life.

Caroline guesses that scientists will focus on the planet's temperature and whether it could support life. She uses the expression fingers crossed to express hope for a positive outcome.

Yes. We often make the physical gesture of crossing our fingers for good luck.

We do. That reminds me Neil, the answer to your question! Fingers crossed that I answered correctly.

I see what you've done there, Becca. Yes, I asked you how long it would take to drive to the Sun at 100km an hour, and you answered c) 1,700 years. Well, the Sun is very far away, but the answer was b) only 170 years.

Oh well, that's still longer than my lifetime! Now let's have a recap of the language we've learnt in this episode, starting with habitable, which describes a place or habitat that is suitable for something to live.

A zone is an area with a particular feature.

Potential describes possibly having qualities or abilities to do something.

The phrasal verb rule out means to dismiss the possibility or idea of something.

We also had dominated. If something is dominated by something else, it is controlled by it or is the most significant element of it.

And finally, the expression fingers crossed is used to wish for hope or luck. Once again, our six minutes are up, but head over to our website, Goodbye for now.

Bye!