What Would Life Look Like on Alien Worlds?

When we search the cosmos for life, we usually look for planets that look like Earth, after all, if Earth can support life why couldn’t a similar planet. But not all planets look like Earth, some are much hotter and others much smaller. With the diversity of planets, it's worth asking, what would life look like on alien worlds?

We'll discuss three worlds. Zantar: a purple world. On Earth, plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy they can use, but on Zantar, plants use retinal. This gives life, and the entire planet, its a purple tint. But where are all the animals on Zantar? This planet is quiet. No animals roam its surface, no birds fly in its skies. Mayacroom, a fungus, has a death grip on the planet.

Calax: instead of humans making Jurassic Park, imagine a world we could visit filled with dinosaur-like creatures. Thanks to a CO2-rich atmosphere, plants grow fast but have fewer nutrients than they do on Earth. This means herbivores have to have larger stomachs to eat enough food to keep them going. And carnivores need to be even larger to eat the herbivores. This means Calax is a planet filled with giant, dinosaur-like creatures.

Titan: a giant rocky world home to unusual creators. Unlike life on Earth, that's based on carbon, life on Titan is silicon-based. See how that affects the life forms that evolved in the video.