Photo : NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Francis Reddy
Beta Pictoris, a star system located 63 light years from Earth, is one of the most violent ever seen by astronomers. But, explosive collisions could drive the very mechanisms of life. Humans...may be witnessing the first emergence of life in this nearby star system.
Comets may have brought much of the water to our home world. The carbon-rich "dirty snowballs" could also have seeded our world with the first precursors to life. This could mean the best sign of life in the system is a cloud of gas, poisonous to humans. The presence of carbon monoxide shows evidence of frequent cometary collisions, which could bring water and organic material to worlds within the system.