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More than 4,500 exoplanets have been discovered to date, with only a small portion believed to have the properties of containing life. New study suggests the galaxy may actually contain 300 million planets capable of supporting life.
The research analyzed data from the Kepler Space Telescope and found that about half of stars that have a temperature similar to that of the sun – plus or minus up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit – could also be orbiting rocky planets. with liquid water on their surface.
“Kepler once told us that there are billions of planets, but now we know that a good chunk of those planets could be rocky and habitable,” said lead author of the study, Steve Bryson, in a statement. “While this result is far from a final value and the water on a planet’s surface is only one of the many factors that support life, it is extremely exciting that we have calculated that these worlds are also common with such confidence and precision.
This illustration represents a possible appearance of the planet Kepler-452b, the first near-Earth-sized world to be in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Credit: NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech / T. Pyle
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE ON EARTH’S NEAREST 1000 STARS COULD SEE US: EXPERTS
The Kepler Space Telescope, which launched in 2009, was retired in 2018 after running out of fuel.
The new study, which is expected to be published in The Astronomical Journal, examined the relationship between the star’s temperature and the light absorbed by an orbiting planet, broadening the scope for researchers.
“We have always known how to define habitability simply in terms of the physical distance of a planet from a star, so that it is neither too hot nor too cold, left us to make a lot of assumptions”, said study co-author Ravi Kopparapu. “Gaia’s star data has allowed us to look at these planets and their stars in an entirely new way.”
“Not all stars are the same,” Kopparapu added. “And neither does every planet.
24 POTENTIAL “ SUPERHABITABLE ” PLANETS DISCOVERED CLOSE TO EARTH
In their findings, the researchers also said there were “at least four” potentially habitable exoplanets between 20 and 30 light years from Earth. A light year, which measures distance in space, is about 6 trillion miles.
“To me, this result is an example of how much we have been able to discover thanks to this little glimpse beyond our solar system,” added Bryson, a researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center. “What we are seeing is that our galaxy is fascinating, with some fascinating worlds and some that may not be too different from ours.”
In October, a separate group of researchers discovered 24 potential “superhabitable” planets that may have better conditions for life.
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