Earth is not necessarily the best planet in the universe. Researchers have identified two dozen planets outside our solar system that may have more suitable conditions for life than us. Some of these orbiting stars may be even better than our Sun.
A study led by Dirk Schulz-Makuch, a scientist at Washington State University, was recently published in the Journal. Astrobiology Specifications of potential “superhubble” planets, including older, slightly larger, slightly warmer and possibly wetter than Earth. Life can evolve even more easily on planets that are slowly changing their lifespan than our sun.
The 24 top contenders for superhubble planets are all more than 100 light-years away, but Schulz-Makuch said the study could help focus future observation efforts, such as NASAThe James Webb Space Telescope, the Louvre Space Observatory and the European Space Agency’s Plato Space Telescope.
“With the next space telescope coming up, we’ll get more information, so it’s important to choose some targets,” said Schulz-Makuch, a professor at Berlin’s WSU and Technical University. “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. “
For the study, a geo-biologist, Schulz-Makuch, astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, and Edward Ginnan of Villanova University, teamed up to identify the superhibitability criteria. System for good candidates. Lack of habit does not mean that these planets definitely have life, only the conditions that are conducive to life.
The researchers selected planetary-star systems with potential terrestrial planets in the liquid water residential zone of the host star to transfer exoplanets from the Kepler ject project interest to the exoplanet archive.
While the Sun is the center of our solar system, it is less than 10 billion years long. Since it took about a billion 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.
In addition to looking at systems with cooler G stars, the researchers also looked at systems with dwarf stars, which are slightly cooler, wider and less bright than our Sun. The K Stars have a lifespan of 20 billion to 70 billion years. 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% 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. Slightly overall warm temperature, average surface temperature about 5 degrees Celsius (Or about 8 degrees Fahrenheit) With extra moisture than the earth, will also be good 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.
“It’s sometimes difficult to articulate this theory of soluble planets because we think we have the best planets,” Schulz-Makuch said. “We have a lot of complex and diverse life forms, 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. “
Reference: “In Search of a Planet Better Than Earth: Dick Schulz-Makuch, Rena Heller and Edward Ginan, 18 September 2020, In Search of a Planet Better Than Earth: Astrobiology.
DOI: 10.1089 / est.2019.2161
