Suitable conditions for life have been discovered on Eris and Makemake, two dwarf planets beyond Neptune. 
Natacha Payà Meteored Spain 03/04/2024 2:00 p.m. 6 min
The solar system is home the eight planets that we all know and our star that can give us life. But there are also dwarf planets like Pluto. The International Astronomical Union, which sets the criteria for classifying a celestial body as a planet, has included Ceres, Haumea, Eris and Makemake in the “dwarf” category. Well, the latter two could support life.
Where are Eris and Makemake?
With the exception of Ceres, the rest of the dwarf planets lie beyond the orbit of Neptune, that is, in the outer zone of our system. This place is known as Kuiper belt. This place is populated by millions and millions of rock bodies which could hide habitable worlds yet to be discovered. Here are Eris and Makemake.
According to observations of the @NASAWebb The space telescope has discovered traces of monodeuterated methane (CHD) on the surfaces of two dwarf planets called Eris and Makemake, which are comparable in size to Pluto and its moon Charon. The duo drifting in the Kuiper Belt reveals themselves pic.twitter.com/1cQRzKzZbQ
— Maurizio Iβλἄ (@Dragonmaurizio) February 22, 2024
Eris is only 44 kilometers smaller than Pluto. However, it is 25% more massive due to the higher concentration of rock in its core. On the other hand, Makemake was discovered two months after Eris and turns out to be smaller. with a radius of 1163 kilometers.
The new here, is that both Eris and Makemake could be geologically active, just like Pluto. This means they could host subsurface oceans And of course: if there is water, there could be life. This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the Space Science Division of the Southwest Research Institute in Texas.
Methane is the key
After it was discovered in 2015 that Pluto had huge ice volcanoes and therefore volcanic activity, a similar study was carried out on Eris and Makemake. James Webb Space Telescope data for the proposed study that these two planets were also geologically active and contained gases on their icy surfaces.
A new discovery by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute found that the Kuiper Belt planets Eris and Makemake may be geologically active… They're not cold! pic.twitter.com/GSpVzo5sRd
A geologo on Apuros (@geologoenapuros) February 19, 2024
The James Webb Telescope is capable of taking images of previously inaccessible places and its instruments are even capable of detecting the different isotopes of the atoms that make up any chemical substance. Thanks to him, they discovered that the most notable gas was methane. Within this group of gases, they distinguished two types: the abiotic and the thermogenic.
The main difference between the two is the amount of hydrogen and deuterium present in their molecules. According to Christopher Glein, geochemist and research coordinator, the hydrogen/deuterium ratio opens a window into the subsurface of these two planets. In total, Beneath their icy surfaces, Eris and Makemake may have potential sources of liquid water.
Is there life far away from the sun?
These discoveries increase the possibility of finding life far from the Sun. It is important to recognize that this work is based on a number of assumptions and approximations and cannot be considered definitive fact. The possibility that there is water in Eris and Makemake will be investigated in the coming years. A promising new trend that leads us to believe that planets far from our star could harbor life.
Size of dwarf planets. Eris and Makemake could hide oceans of liquid water, suggests the James Webb Telescope.
The Kuiper Belt turns out to be much more “alive” in terms of accommodating more dynamic worlds than was first thought. It's not too early to think about flying a spacecraft past one of these celestial bodies and putting the James Webb Telescope data into a specific geological context.
Item reference:
Christopher R Glenn. et al. Moderate D/H ratios in methane ice on Eris and Makemake as evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic processes within them: Geochemical analysis. Icarus (2024).