Could life exist without the sun? Common wisdom says no. Our food chains, both in the ocean and out of it, begin with plants and phytoplankton. But scientists are discovering that strange things are happening thousands of feet below the surface of our oceans. At these incredible depths, where sunlight is not able to penetrate, a mysterious glow of light has been discovered.

The strange lights, which are imperceptible to humans but detectable with scientific instruments, come from ridge-top vents that eject volcanically heated mineral-containing water. Vents form where the earth's crustal plates are slowly spreading apart and magma seeps up from below to form mountain ranges (called mid-ocean ridges).

These vents create a very unusual environment. Strange creatures, including large tube worms, clams, deep-sea fish, deep-sea jellyfish, crabs and several species of shrimp have made this place their home.

You couldn't live down there. Just the weight from all the water above would crush you. Only the most hi-tech research submarines can venture to those depths. If you survived the pressure, you wouldn't escape the temperatures – water that exits from the vents is extremely hot (400 C) while surrounding ocean water temperature is immensely cold (only slightly above the freezing point of water). The water discharged from the vents is toxic due to high concentrations of dissolved chemicals. Sunlight from the surface is non-existent.

As strange as the light is, some of the implications are even stranger. It appears possible that the light may be sufficient to power photosynthesis. If this turns out to be the case, and "chemosynthesizing"
bacteria are discovered, this would be the first time that photosynthesis, without direct sunlight, would be observed.

Just think for a moment – a discovery like this would indicate that life could exist in an incredible range of conditions. Maybe even on the coldest planets in the solar system!