Exoplanets are planets that are now frequently found orbiting stars outside of our solar system. However, researchers working on NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite discovered a few unusual planets in the habitable zones of their host planets in the summer of 2022.
One planet orbits its star in less than three days and is 30% larger than Earth. The other is 70 percent bigger than Earth and may have a deep ocean. These two extraterrestrial planets are so-called super-Earths, which are larger than the Earth but smaller than ice giants like Uranus and Neptune.
Super-Earths are a distinct category of planets that are heavier than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus still more massive than Earth. They could be made of gas, rock, or a combination of the two. They can be up to double the mass of Earth's size or its size, depending on the species.
The term "super-Earth" exclusively refers to exoplanets that are larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune; it does not imply that they are similar to Earth in any way. The real makeup of these planets is yet unknown because they are unlike any planets in our solar system, despite being widespread among planets discovered so far in our galaxy.
Scientists still believe that life can only exist on Earth and nowhere else in the universe. It would make sense to concentrate the search for life on planets that are Earth-like or have characteristics that are similar to Earth. However, studies have revealed that a super-Earth like the ones recently discovered offers scientists the best chance of discovering life on an extraterrestrial planet.
Earth is the "best of all possible universes," according to German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who made this claim more than 300 years ago. Leibniz's reasoning sought to explain the existence of evil, while contemporary astrobiologists have investigated a related issue by focusing on what makes a planet habitable to life. It turns out that Earth is not the ideal place that could exist.
The climate has fluctuated over time from ocean-boiling hot to planet-wide, deep-freeze cold owing to the geological movements of the Earth and variations in the brightness of the Sun. Most of Earth's 4.5 billion year existence has been spent as an inhospitable place for humans and other larger animals. Simulations imply that Earth's ability to support life for a very long time was purely accidental.
According to researchers, bigger planets are much more expected to be seismically active, which is a characteristic that would likely encourage the evolution of life. Therefore, the planet with the best chance of supporting life would be between 20% and 30% larger in volume and nearly twice as massive as Earth.
The average temperature would be 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and the waters would be shallow enough even for light to encourage life all the way to the seafloor. It would have an atmosphere that is denser than Earth's and would serve as a protective layer.
Last but not least, such a planet would revolve around a star older than the Sun, allowing for more time for life to develop, and it would have a powerful magnetic field to shield it from cosmic radiation.
These characteristics, in combination, are thought to make a planet extremely livable.
Astronomers will search for biosignatures¡ªbyproducts of biology that can be found in a planet's atmosphere¡ªin order to find life on faraway exoplanets.
The next generation of massive, ground-based telescopes, including the 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope, the 30-meter Telescope, and the 24.5-meter Giant Magellan Telescope, will have the best prospects of discovering indications of life in the atmospheres of exoplanets. By the end of the decade, all of these telescopes, which are currently being built, should be gathering data.
The James Webb Space Telescope of NASA has not yet been made exoplanet research-friendly. But it can perform some of this science, and in its first year of operation, it will aim for two super-Earths that might be liveable.
Along with the planets identified this summer, James Webb has a number of other super-Earths with large oceans that have been found in recent years.
For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.