With the latest space telescopes like Hubble, Kepler, and the James Webb Telescope, a lot of new exoplanets have been discovered that have significantly changed our views of our universe. Some of you might be thinking, what’s the big deal or others may be wondering what an exoplanet even is. An exoplanet is a planet in another solar system and some of their conditions range from being Earth-like to conditions that would not sustain human life for a millisecond! These planets have intrigued scientists for the past few decades because of their differences and similarities to Earth.
Exoplanets that are similar to Earth allure a lot of scientists because they show signs of supporting human life The downside is that it is really hard to find a planet that can sustain life because certain conditions need to be met.
The requirements all fall under the same umbrella of elemental composition, environmental limits, and temperature. For instance, these planets must have water. Life on Earth thrives on water, it’s the basic component of life; without it, we wouldn’t be able to last for very long. Temperature is another factor to be considered as it will determine what form water will be available in and life cannot be supported on a planet that is too hot or cold. Additionally, these exoplanets must have elemental compositions that will allow certain resources to be available for use. Humans and other forms of life rely on an abundance of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and many more; without some of these elements, life may not be able to thrive as well and industrial activities may decline. Another thing to be considered when finding a habitable planet is its location in its solar system. There is a term scientists use to determine this called the habitable zone. Essentially, the planet must be as far from its star as Earth is from the Sun. A planet too close to its star can create a gruesome environment due to its heat and a planet too far will freeze most life. Ideally, the planet needs to be in a location where liquid water can form.
Another factor that must be taken into consideration is the star. The star must be around the same age as the Sun or rather it cannot be approaching its terminating years as the older a star gets, the hotter it becomes, potentially destroying the planets in its system.
Now that we know what sort of exoplanet we need, which planets show signs of supporting life? Well, out of the 4,000 exoplanets discovered by scientists so far, these planets show signs of being Earth-like: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62f, Kepler-442b, Kepler-452b, and Kepler-1649c.
You probably noticed that most of these exoplanets start with Kepler because they were all discovered by Kepler, a telescope that has discovered less than 3,000 exoplanets!
Kepler-22b:
Kepler-22b is a Super-Earth (meaning that it is much larger than Earth) and shows signs of a rocky terrain with a potential ocean. Additionally, it’s in the habitable zone, making the temperatures good to sustain life. Its orbital period is around 290 Earth days, not too far off from Earth’s 365.
Kepler-69c:
This exoplanet is another Super-Earth with an orbital period of approximately 245 days. This planet is in the habitable zone for Earth and investigations have shown signs of a potential rocky terrain with traces of liquid water on its surface.
The rest of the Kepler planets are all the same as those described above: they are all Super-Earths and have an orbital period of around 200 days. Except for Kepler-1649c, as its orbital period is 19.5 days, let’s just say you’ll be celebrating New Year's every three weeks!
Kepler-452b:
One planet that I will go into more detail is Kepler-452b. This exoplanet has been of great interest to scientists throughout the years as this planet has many similarities to Earth, proving to be a good host for life. Its orbital period is around 385 days and is 60% larger than Earth, making it a Super-Earth. Its orbit is in the habitable zone, increasing the likelihood of liquid water on its surface. The star it orbits is the same star type as our Sun, a G2 star. It is, however, 5% farther from its parent star than Earth is from the Sun. Its Sun, Kepler-452, is 20% brighter, is 10% larger in diameter, and has the same temperature as the sun despite being 1.5 billion years older. Considering all these characteristics, we might be able to send life to this planet but it is 1,402 light years away so if we somehow manage to travel at the speed of light, it would take 1,402 to get there!
Don’t worry, research is still being carried out to investigate these exoplanets more and who knows, maybe eventually life will be able to grow and thrive on one of these planets!
Stay tuned for the next blog where we will visit some exoplanets that definitely cannot support life on Earth!
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