Life on Earth was not wiped out because of ‘luck’, study finds

Planet Earth has managed to remain habitable for so long for one simple reason: good luck.

Researchers at the University of Sourthhampton have carried out mass simulations of the climate evolution of 100,000 randomly generated planets.

Each planet was simulated 100 times with random events changing the climate each time to see if habitable life could be sustained for three billion years just like on Earth.

Of these planets, 9% (8,700) succeeded at least once, but, of these, almost all (around 8,000) succeeded less than 50 times out of 100 and most (around 4,500) succeeded less than 10 times. out of 100.

Earth system scientist Professor Toby Tyrrell said the study’s results, published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, suggested chance was a major factor in determining whether planets, such as Earth , can continue to feed the lives of billions. years.

“A continually stable and habitable climate on Earth is quite confusing. Our neighbors, Mars and Venus, do not have habitable temperatures, even though Mars once did,” said Professor Tyrrell.

“The Earth not only has a habitable temperature today, it has maintained it at all times for three to four billion years – an extraordinary geological period.

We can now understand that the Earth has remained suitable for life for so long thanks, at least in part, to luck, ”he continued.

A number of other large-scale events could have occurred to change the habitability of Earth, for example if a slightly larger asteroid had hit Earth or had done so at a different time.

“If an intelligent observer had been present on early Earth when life first evolved, and were able to calculate the odds of the planet remaining habitable for the next billion years, the calculation may well have revealed very low odds, ”added Professor Tyrrell. .

These low odds mean that the chances of finding habitable “Twin Earths” elsewhere in the universe are also very slim – something astronomers have been particularly focused on as interstellar missions increase.

Additional reports by agencies