15 million years after the big bang, the entire universe should have been a “habitable zone”. This isn’t a fanciful hypothesis, so much as a straightforward numerical prediction of the standard model of physics.
This implies that a period lasting as long as 3 million years should have prevailed in our early universe when temperatures everywhere were 0-30C from mere background radiation (regardless of distance from stars). And there should have been enough liquid water and perhaps enough heavy elements for life similar to ours to have the had the chance to evolve uniformly throughout the universe.
It’s somewhat humbling to reflect on the fact that Earth may not be the first and only cherished birthplace of life, so much as a flickering remnant of life, left marooned in a cold and dying universe.
See on www.nature.com
4 Responses to “Life possible in the early Universe”
December 14
Louie Helmh/t Jonathan Cain
December 14
Simone SyedNow I have a sad.
December 14
Luke CockerhamHmm, so the Douglas Adams parable of the mud puddle evaporating away could be more right than he knew.
December 14
Evan GaensbauerLouie, I just want you to know that I don’t need Reddit anymore, because not I only need to read Rockstar Research.