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Two exoplanets in the habitable zones of their stars probably have stable climates and regular seasons, the scientists discovered. One of them, believe astronomers, is about the size of the Earth.
Kepler-186f and Kepler-62f appear to regularly tilt on their axis as the Earth in simulations studied by researchers at Georgia Tech and Harvard. The two planets, think scientists, are relatively good candidates for life.
The way a planet sinks on its axis affects the amount of light that reaches its surface and, in turn, affects its climate. A variable axial inclination on Mars, for example, may partly explain why the red planet went from wet to incredibly dry.
![Classifications ] 6_29_Kepler-186f](http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/embed-lg/public/2018/06/29/629kepler-186f.png)
Although Mars is in the habitable zone of the Sun – close enough for liquid water to persist – it's an arid desert. The planet's axial tilt has oscillated from zero to 60 degrees, said study author and Georgia Tech Assistant Professor, Gongjie Li, in a university statement. "This instability has probably contributed to the degradation of the Martian atmosphere and the evaporation of surface water."
The complex gravitational gymnastics of other planets of the same system can alter the orientation angle of the planet when it revolves around its star. At the right speed, this can swing the axis of the planet. However, satellites such as moons can dampen these oscillations and adjust the axial tilt of a planet.
The Earth's axial tilt goes from only 22.1 to about 24.5 degrees every 10,000 years or so. Mars is facing much greater oscillations without a satellite large enough to fire on its movements.
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"It seems that the two exoplanets are very different Mars and Earth because they have a weaker connection with their sister planets, "said Li." We do not know if they own moons, but our calculations show that even without satellites, the Kepler-186f and 62f spin axes would have remained constant over tens of millions of years. # 39; years. "
Kepler-62f is about 1200 light years away in the Lyra constellation. The super-Earth is about 40% larger than our own rock house. Scientists believe that it is terrestrial or covered with water.
Kepler-186f, spotted in 2014, is only 500 light-years away from Earth. This planet revolves around its star in a system of five planets in the Cygnus constellation. The first planet discovered with a radius similar to ours, it is just 10 percent larger than the Earth. The Kepler-186f years are much shorter than ours because they complete an orbit in 130 days
"I do not think we understand enough the origin of life to exclude the possibility of their presence on planets to irregular seasons, "added author Yutong Shan's study of the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysics Center in the statement.
" Even on Earth, life is remarkably diverse and has shown incredible resilience in extraordinarily hostile environments, but a climate-stable planet might be a more comfortable place to start. "
The research was published in The Astronomical Journal .
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