Earth is the only planet we know of that has sensitive life – but astronomers have discovered two dozen exoplanets that may have better conditions for life than our home world.
A team led by Washington Washington State University identified 24 of the more than 4,500,000 known explanations for the “superhighble” planets that could be good candidates for life.
They are older, slightly larger than Earth, wetter and slightly warmer and these factors, when taken with a slightly cooler and longer-living star, create better conditions for developing complex life, the team explained.
When a single planet does not meet all the criteria for ‘superhibitability’, it is all higher than the Earth as a whole.
Even though the worlds are more than 100 light years away – far too far for us to visit – researchers say the discovery could help find life elsewhere in the universe.
All the planets discovered by the research team are more than 100 light years away. They were looking at a world that was probably ‘better for life’ than the earth. NASA has found something similar to Earth 110 light years away or 2-18b (pictured)
Leading author Dirk Schulz-Makuch says the space telescope is important to focus on potential candidates over time, and this has the most promising conditions for complex life.
Just because the team says the planets meet the conditions for ‘superhibitability’ doesn’t mean they are really habitable because our telescopes can’t see their atmosphere yet – it will come with new technology in the coming years.
For the study, Schulz-Makuch, a geo-biologist with planetary habitation skills, teamed up with astronomers to identify potential superhubility criteria.
The team, which included Renee Heller of the Max Planck Institute and Edward Ginan of Villanova University, was discovered by 4,000 well-known exoplanets.
Over the next few years, a raft of space-based telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Telescope, the Louvre Space Observatory and ESA’s Plate, will come online.
The criteria for a ‘superhighble planet’ include small islands divided by oceans rather than continents. This is a view of the Bora Bora Lagoon – a ‘paradise on earth’
| Name | Plant growth | Radius connected to the earth | Temperature | Distance from the earth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOI-5819.01 | 3.3 billion years | 1.16 times larger | 81F | 2,700 light years |
| KOI-5554.01 | 6.5 billion years | 1.29 times larger | 79F | 701 light years |
| KOI-456.04 | 7 billion years | 1.77 times larger | 58F | 3,140 light years |
| KOI-5715.01 | 5.5 billion years | 1.8 times larger | 53 f | 2,964 light years |
| KOI-5135.01 | 5.9 billion years | 1.85 times larger | 88 f | 4,244 light years |
| KOI-2162.01 | 7.5 billion years | 1.59 times larger | 262F | 3,144 light years |
| KOI-172.02 | 7 billion years | 1.48 times larger | 181F | 2,433 light years |
‘Now with the advent of the next space telescope, we’ll get more information, so it’s important to choose some targets,’ Schulz-Makuch said.
‘We have to focus on some of the planets that have the most promising conditions for complex life. However, we must be careful not to get stuck in the search for another earth because there may be planets that may be more suitable for life than ours. ‘
The lack of habit does not mean that these planets certainly have life, only that their potential is conducive to life and worthy of further study.
Researchers select systems with potential terrestrial planets within the host star’s ‘liquid water habitable zone’ – also known as the Goldilocks zone.
They do not have the ability to tell whether a planet determined by their criteria is actually ‘wetter than Earth’, but predict that if those planets meet other criteria such as size, star and distance from surface temperature, water will be needed. .
While the Sun is the center of our solar system, it is less than 10 billion years long in comparison – it is currently middle-aged.
Since it took about four billion years before any kind of complex life appeared on Earth, many stars like our Sun, called G-Stars, could run out of fuel before complex life could develop if it took longer than life on Earth. Is.
During the search for systems with G-stars, the team also discovered Dwarf star systems – they are colder, less massive and less bright than the sun.
That stars also have the benefit of a lifespan of 20 billion to 70 billion years.
This is an artist’s impression of Kepler-69C, an Earth-shaped exoplanet 2,400 light years away. It is on the list of potential ‘super habitable’ planets but its temperature can be very high at 181F
This will allow the orbiting planets to age as well as give life more time to move forward with the complexities currently being found on Earth.
However, in order to be habitable, the planets must not be so old that they have exhausted their geothermal heat and lack protective geomagnetic fields.
Earth about a billion. billion billion years old, but researchers argue that the sweetest place for life is a planet that is 5 billion to 8 billion years old.
Size and set are also important. A planet 10 percent larger than Earth should have more habitable land.
One that is 1.5 times the mass of the Earth will be expected to retain its internal heat through ultraactive decay and will also have a stronger gravity to maintain the atmosphere over a longer period of time.
Water is the key to life and the authors argue that it will help a little more, especially in the form of moisture, clouds and humidity.
A slightly warmer overall temperature, an average surface temperature of eight degrees Fahrenheit above Earth with extra humidity would also be better for life.
This warmth and moisture selection is found with more biodiversity in tropical rain forests than in colder, drier areas on Earth.
None of the 24 top candidates on Earth meet all the criteria for the asteroid planets, but one has four critical characteristics that make it more likely for life than our home planet. Becomes comfortable.
Schulz-Makuch said, ‘It is sometimes difficult to convey this theory of superfable planets because we think we have the best planet.
‘We have a lot of complex and diverse lifeforms, and a lot of people who can survive in extreme environments. It’s good to have a comfortable life, but that doesn’t mean we have the best of everything. ‘
The findings are published in the journal Astrobiology.
Scientists study the atmosphere of distant exoplanets using massive space satellites such as Hubble
Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have conditions that are the opposite of what we would see in our atmosphere.
To understand this new world, and what it is made of, scientists need to be able to discover what is contained in their atmosphere.
They often do so using a telescope similar to NASA’s Hubble Telescope.
These massive satellites scan the sky and lock on exoplanets that NASA thinks might be of interest.
Here, the sensors on board perform a variety of analyzes.
A very important and useful absorption is called spectroscopy.
This form of analysis measures the light coming out of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Each gas absorbs a slightly different wavelength of light, and when this happens a black line appears over the entire spectrum.
These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, indicating that it is present on the planet.
After the German astronomer and physicist, they are often referred to as the Frenhofer lines, which he first discovered in 1814.
By combining all the different wavelengths of light, scientists can determine all the chemicals that make up the planet’s atmosphere.
The key is to provide clues to find what is missing.
It is very important that this is done by a space telescope, because then the Earth’s atmosphere will interfere.
Absorption from chemicals in our atmosphere will tank the sample, which is why it is important to study light before it has a chance to reach Earth.
It is always used to find helium, sodium and oxygen in a foreign atmosphere.
This figure shows how light passing through a star and the atmosphere of an exoplanet forms Freunhofer lines indicating the presence of major compounds such as sodium or helium.
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