Do you know about Aliens? 👽

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Speaker 1: Hi, science fans, Guess what. We are launching season four of sleep Tight Science this September, and we need your help to make it extra special. Did you know that your voice can be part of our show? We want to hear your amazing voices in our show opening. It's super easy and fun to join in. Just record yourself saying you are listening to sleep Tight Science, then send your recording to the email address in our show notes. How cool is that. We can't wait to hear all your fantastic voices. Thank you for listening. You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know that aliens might experience their days backwards? What their day might start with bedtime and end with breakfast, So if you're not a morning person, you might just be on alien time. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science. In this episode, we are going to talk about aliens or extraterrestrials. When we say aliens, we are talking about any form of life not from Earth, not your favorite creatures from movies like E. T. The Extraterrestrial or Lilo and Stitch, which are our favorites, and not Little Green creatures or creatures with tentacles, like our green mascot that appears on our podcast cover Art. Extraterrestrials could be like that, but they could also be as simple as tiny microbes living on a distant planet or moon. Imagine for a moment you're holding a magnifying glass, not to look at ants on the sidewalk, but to zoom in on the surface of Mars or the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa. Scientists believe that these places in our Solar System might have the right conditions for life. Not walking and talking creatures, but tiny living things called microbes. They're so small you would need a microscope to see them. But why do scientists think there could be life outside our planet. It's because of water. Where there's water, there's a chance for life. Mars has ice, moons like Europa and saturns Enceladus have oceans under their frozen surfaces. So if there's water, maybe, just maybe, some tiny alien microbes are calling those places home. If we stretch our imaginations and think beyond our Solar System to the billions of stars in our galaxy, each potentially hosting planets of their own, some of these planets might be in the goldilocks zone, where it's not too hot and not too cold, but just right for liquid water and possibly life. With so many stars and planets, the odds start to look pretty good that there's life out there somewhere. But before you start thinking about inviting some aliens over for cookies, remember that finding extraterrestrial life is a huge challenge. Even with our most powerful telescopes and rovers exploring other planets, we haven't found direct evidence of alien life yet. In movies and books, aliens often visit Earth in their shiny spacecraft, ready to chat or even cause a bit of trouble. While those stories are fun and we love them very much, the real search for extraterrestrial life is happening through science and exploration. Maybe one day, one of you will be the scientist who discovers the first evidence of life beyond Earth. So what are aliens? They could be anything from tiny invisible life forms living on a distant moon to the complex creatures of our wildest imaginations. The universe is so big that it could be full of all kinds of possibilities. Imagine if aliens existed and came to visit us their way of eating might be totally different. Maybe they slurp their food through a trunk or absorb sunlight like plants for lunch. So next time you're worried about using the wrong fork at dinner, just remember at least you're not trying to photosynthesize your pizza. When we think about life on other planets, we have to stretch our imaginations beyond what we see on Earth because the conditions there can vastly different from our home planet. Life as we might find it in other worlds could take forms hard for us to imagine. But how do scientists look for life on other worlds? First they use giant radio telescopes, which could be thought of as the ears of our planet. These aren't like the telescopes you might have at home. These are massive dishes spread out across the Earth listening to the whispers of the universe. Scientists use these giant ears to catch signals from far far away in space, so that we can try to hear if anyone out there is trying to talk to us. Maybe it's a beep, a buzz, or even a secret message. It's like tuning into the Galaxies radio station. But we're not just sitting back and listening. We're also out there exploring. We send spacecraft to other planets and moons places where we think aliens might like to hang out. Mars, for example, gets a lot of visitors from Earth. We've sent rovers kind of like remote controlled cars with brains to drive around, take pictures, and even dig in the dirt to look for signs that life could have existed there. And then there are the moons, not our moon, but moons around other planets like Jupiter's Europa and Saturns and Celadus. These moons have oceans under their icy shells, deep dark oceans that could be hiding alien fish or maybe even some kind of space squid. So scientists are planning missions to take a closer look and see if we can find signs of life. Also use super powerful telescopes to look for planets not in our Solar system, but in others far across the galaxy. These are called exoplanets. Scientists can see them as they pass in front of their stars. We are especially interested in ones that are in the Goldilocks zone, where it's not too hot and not too cold but just right for water to stay liquid. Because where there's water there might be life. So what does all this searching and exploring tell us. Well, we haven't found any little green creatures like on our cover art yet, but we are learning so much about the universe and all the possible homes for life out there. Every signal we catch and every new world we discover brings us one step closer to answering the big question, are we alone in the universe. The Goldilock zone, also known as the habitable zone, is an interesting concept in the quest to find alien life. We have mentioned this a couple times so far. This special region around a star is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface. Why is this important because water is essential for life as we know it on Earth, and finding it elsewhere increases the chances of discovering extraterrestrial beings. This zone varies from star to star. The habitable zone is closer for smaller, cooler stars, while around larger, hotter stars it's further away. It's a delicate balance, however, the presence of liquid water is just the first step. Other factors like a planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, and geological activity also play crucial roles in its ability to support life. The search for planets within the Goldilocks Zone continues to be a central focus of astrobiology, the study of life in the universe. Did you know that astronauts will diapers during launch and landing and sometimes during spacewalks. They're called maximum absorbency garments or mags, providing a practical solution for when they can't just excuse themselves to use the restroom. Now, let's answer some listeners questions. Harrison Gryce, who is seven years old and lives in Zelfcant, Germany, asks how was the Earth mate A long, long, long time ago, about four point five billion years back, space was full of dust and rocks floating around. These pieces started to bump into each other and stick together, forming a big, hot, glowing ball. This ball was the very young Earth, but it didn't look like the Earth we see now. As time past, the Earth began to cool down. The outer part turned solid like a pie crust, but the inside stayed warm. Then it rained and rained, filling up the lower areas with water and creating the oceans. Bits of dust and gas that were still floating around the Earth gathered together too, making the moon that shines above us at night. So the Earth was made from all this space dust and rocks coming together, cooling off, and then being decorated with oceans and a moon. Thank you for the question, Harrison. Next, Albolow, who is five and from Scotland, asks how lava is made. Lava is made deep inside the Earth in a place so hot it can melt rocks. Imagine the Earth is like a giant peach. The outer skin is the ground we walk on, but if you go really deep you reach the pit, which is super hot. This hot part is called the mantle, and it is filled with rock that's so hot it turns into a thick, gooey liquid, almost like the melted cheese on a pizza. Sometimes the Earth's crust, or the outer skin, gets cracks in it. When that happens, the melted rock from deep inside can squeeze up through those cracks and reach the surface. Once it gets to the top and comes out, we call it lava. When lava cools down and hardens, it turns back into rock and can create new land or even whole islands. So lava is made by the Earth's inner heat and pressure melt rocks, which then find their way out through volcanoes or cracks in the surface. Thank you for the question. Alba Griffin, age four, asks why do we have to go to school? That's a great question, Griffin. School is where you get to discover new things like numbers that help you count, letters that turn into stories, and amazing facts about the world. School is also a place where you meet friends to share adventures with, learn to play together, and practice how to work as a team. Plus, all the things you learn and practice at school, like reading, writing, and being kind are tools you will use to build your dreams like flying to another planet or helping people here on Earth. Going to school is your first big advance venture to prepare you for all kinds of other adventures you'll go on in life. Thank you for your question, Griffin. Our last question is from Rohan, who is four years old and from Maryland. Rohan asks why can't you pee and poop the same way When our bodies need to eliminate waste, they use two different systems because the waste is different. Pee or urine comes from our kidneys, filtering our blood to clean out extra water and stuff our body doesn't need anymore. It's mostly liquid and travels through special tubes to leave our body when we go to the bathroom. Poop, on the other hand, comes from the food we eat. After our body takes all the good stuff it needs from the food, what's leftover goes through our intestines and comes out as poop. It's solid because it has bits of food our body couldn't use along with other waste. So we pee and poop in different ways. Because there are two different types of waste, our body has to get rid of, one liquid and one solid coming from different places inside us. It's like having two types of trash at home, one for recycling and one for the trash bin, and they need to go out in different ways. Thank you for the question, Rohan. Now for some fun facts. Did you know that some planets and moons have extreme environments like the scorching heat and crushing pressure on Venus or the icy oceans Hidden beneath the frozen crusts of moons like Europa and Enceladus, Life there might have adapted to thrive in high temperatures or in complete darkness far below the ice, where the water is kept liquid by the gravitational pull of their planet. Did you know that life on other planets might not be based on water and carbon like it is on Earth. Scientists speculate that life could be silicon based instead of carbon, or use ammonia or methane as a solvent instead of water. This means that alien life forms could have different structures, metabolisms, and ways of growing compared to anything we are familiar with, As their physical forms might be vastly different. The way these life forms communicate could be beyond our current understanding. They might use colors, electrical signals, or even changes in temperature to communicate rather than sounds or gestures. Did you know that a day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus? That's right, Venus rotates so slowly on its axis that it takes longer to complete one rotation than it does for it to orbit around the Sun. Did you know that space is completely silent? Without air and space to carry sound waves, astronauts can't hear noises in the vacuum of space, making it a very quiet place. In this episode, we learned a little about aliens or extraterrestrials. What is an alien? An alien can be any form of life not from Earth. Extraterrestrials could be like that, but they could also be as simple as tiny microbes living on a distant planet or moon. We talked about why scientists think there could be life outside of our planet and how they look for it. We looked at the Goldilocks zone, the place where it is not too hot or too cool for liquid water and possibly life, because water is essential for life as we know it on Earth, and finding it elsewhere increases the chances of discovering extraterrestrial beings. We looked at questions from Harrison, Alba, Griffin, and Rohan. They asked about how the Earth was made, how lava is made, why we have to go to school, and why we can't pee and poop the same way. Thank you to Jessica Menzies. Adeline Harmon seven years old from Anchorage, Alaska. Sophia Harmon five years old from Anchorage, Alaska, Portland, nine years old in Novastow, Texas, Katia age five, William age six from Okinawa, Japan. Caleb from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Race age thirteen from Ontario, Canada. Adeline four years old, Dino Santos age seven, Amilia age six in Vancouver, BC, seven year old Gabe in Denver, Colorado, and Alfie, age five in York, England. We love getting your feedback on our show. If you have any feedback, please send it our way. And if you want to make sure you get all the episodes, please ask your parents to subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever your parents listen to podcasts. And please, if you love learning about science with us, leave us a review. It may help others find our show. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to Hello at sleep tightscience dot com sleep tight