Although pulsars regularly blast out deadly gamma rays and X-rays, alien planets in orbit around them could theoretically be habitable, a new study finds. https://www.space.com/39157-deadly-pulsars-could-host-habitable-planets.html
Possibly habitable by some form of life but highly unlikely. Then again so is the bottom of a frozen ocean with no sunlight surrounded by toxic chemicals.
Well until we are able to gather enough information about "life" in the Universe then anything can theoretically be "habitable". As of right now in spite of all of the research in the field of Astrobiology we are still limited to making hypothesis's from a sample of 1. We have no idea if life on Earth in itself is normal or abnormal nor to we have any idea whether the type of life on Earth is normal or abnormal. This little blue planet of ours could be the most outrageous type of habitable planet in the galaxy for all we know. There could be lifeforms out there that require massive doses of electromagnetic radiation to survive and would die on a planet like ours that shields it's inhabitants from such things. One thing we have figured out just here on Earth alone is that life adapts to and takes advantage of it's environment in order to survive. So if there is life on planets around Pulsars then they more than likely evolved to deal with, or possibly even require, the deadly gamma and x-rays that bombard the planet constantly. Just like how creatures in the deep ocean require those extreme pressures to survive and if you took those pressures away, as in brought them to the surface, they would die.
Presuming all life is carbon based. Energy based life may be immune to or even thrive on pursar radiation.
Life that exists deep underwater either gets its energy from dead things that drift down from near the surface or from vents. Neither of which would exist on a planet orbiting a pulsar. These emit extremely short wavelengths of EMR, as in X-rays. This would kill most forms of life.
I think they believe if there is water there is probably life. It's have to be deep enough to avoid the lethal types of radiation. And that is possible. Why not ocean based intelligent life with limbs capable of work?
There is no reason not to have vents and life existing initially on chemically fed organisms then some feeding on them until you have an entire ecologically based environment. Some bacteria/etc near the surface would evolve to be resistant to radiation but it would take much longer if at all to do it that way. It's just time. We evolved in 7-12 million years and only 2 since H erectus so not out of the question.
