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Finding planets outside our solar system is a challenge, and determining the size, composition, and surface conditions of these planets is even more difficult. Determine if life could exist on an exoplanet, based on all previous information? It's such a difficult challenge for an astronomer, but Cornell researchers do it exactly.
In a new study published in Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists at the Carl Sagan Institute in Cornell, have revealed that the conditions on the nearby exoplanet, Proxima-b, may be close to what is considered conducive to life.
Proxima-b is a planet orbiting the nearby star Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf, which could be a good candidate for creating habitable worlds around him, but to declare that Proxima-b was habitable has caused a pause for scientists. The exoplanet is incredibly close to its star and ends an orbit in just over 11 Earth days (compared to our own 365-day year).
Because of this, the planet is bombarded with radiation from its star in a much larger quantity. As the Cornell researchers explain, the exoplanet perceives up to 250 times more x-rays than the Earth, and potentially deadly UV rays of greater intensity than our planet's .
However, scientists argue that none of this is necessarily a break in the search for life, and that the Earth could be our best example. In their recently published article, the researchers note that the early Earth had undergone even more intense ultraviolet radiation, while remaining adapted to life.
It is therefore possible that the conditions in which life was created for the first time on Earth are present on other exoplanets, notably Proxima-b, and that the biological process is already at work despite an apparently hostile environment. . The researchers summarize this in the study as follows:
Since the early Earth was inhabited, we show that UV radiation should not be a factor limiting the habitability of planets orbiting M stars. Our closest neighbor worlds remain intriguing targets for the search for life beyond our solar system.
In the future, Proxima-b could be a prime candidate for the first interstellar exploration efforts of mankind. Less than five light-years away from Earth, it's our closest choice. If we look for life, it seems we can not exclude it yet.
Source of image: Carnegie
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