Researchers have proposed several theories about the appearance of aliens, including their potential to glow red, blue, or green to protect themselves from strong ultraviolet radiation. While they are often depicted as little green people or tall monsters in movies, experts believe that their appearance may vary greatly due to the unique environments of exoplanets and moons orbiting other planets.
Adam Frank, an astrophysicist, suggests that some aliens may have evolved to fly through dense atmospheres on their planets, potentially leading to the development of different body structures such as those resembling elephants. Meanwhile, Valentina Erastova, a biochemistry researcher, speculates that life on some planets may have evolved to live underground to protect themselves from high levels of radiation.
In the presence of strong ultraviolet radiation, aliens could have proteins or pigments similar to corals that help them absorb energy and glow in safer wavelengths. Other potential adaptations include a slow metabolism in extremely cold environments such as methane seas on Titan. The possibility of alien life being single-celled is also considered by researchers.
Detecting single-celled alien life from Earth may be challenging; however, evidence of bacteria-based life could potentially be found in calcium carbonate formations on other planets. However, the likelihood of alien life resembling humans is low as our appearance is a result of evolution in Earth’s unique environment. Instead, alien life may have similar characteristics due to convergent evolution such as the presence of eyes, limbs or wings. All assumptions about alien life are based on the essential conditions required for life as we know it on Earth.
