Photo: Astronomers think the most likely place to find life in the galaxy is on a super-Earth, such as Kepler-69c, seen in this artist’s image. (Image credit: NASA Ames/JPL-CalTech)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Experts find several planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their parent star. This was discovered by astronomers working on NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
This finding comes after astronauts routinely search for planets orbiting outside the solar system or exoplanets.
One of the exoplanets is 30 percent larger than Earth and orbits in less than three days. In addition, there are also exoplanets that are 70 percent larger than Earth and may contain deep oceans.
“These two exoplanets are super-Earths or larger than Earth but smaller than ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune,” wrote space.com, quoted Thursday (30/3/2023),
Scientists say most Super-Earths orbit cold dwarf stars, which are smaller in mass and outlive the sun.
Meanwhile, there are hundreds of dwarf stars for every star like the Sun, and scientists found Super-Earths orbiting 40% of these dwarf stars.
“Using that number, astronomers estimate that there are tens of billions of Super-Earths in the habitable zone and have liquid, that is, in the Milky Way alone. Since all life on Earth uses water, water is considered essential for habitability,” they said.
According to current projections, about a third of all exoplanets are super-Earths, making them the most common type of exoplanet in the Milky Way. For the closest Super Earth distance is only 6 light years from Earth.
Another reason why super-Earths are ideal targets in the search for life is that they are easier to detect and study than Earth-sized planets.
Furthermore, astronomers use two methods in detecting exoplanets. The first is to look for the planet’s gravitational effect on its parent star. The second is to look for the brief dimming of the star’s light as the planet passes in front of it.
Researchers have listed the attributes that make planets so conducive to life. Larger planets tend to be geologically active, a feature scientists think will drive biological evolution.
“So the most habitable planet would have a mass roughly twice that of Earth and between 20 percent and 30 percent larger in volume,” he wrote.
The volume will also have an ocean shallow enough for light to stimulate life down to the ocean floor with an average temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). In addition, the planet would have a much thicker atmosphere than Earth, which would serve as an insulating blanket.
Thus, planets will orbit stars that are older than the Sun to provide longer life and have a magnetic field that can protect against cosmic radiation. According to scientists, the combination of these attributes will make the planet highly habitable.
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