Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 distant planet known every bit Kepler-62f could locomote habitable, a squad of astronomers reports. The planet, which is most 1,200 light-years from globe inward the direction of the constellation Lyra, is some xl per centum larger than Earth. At that size, Kepler-62f is inside the hit of planets that are probable to locomote rocky together with mayhap could accept oceans, said Aomawa Shields, the study's Pb writer together with a National Science Foundation astronomy together with astrophysics postdoctoral boyfriend inward UCLA's division of physics together with astronomy.
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| Kepler-62f, shown hither inward an artist’s rendering, is far plenty from its star that its atmosphere would withdraw a high concentration of carbon dioxide to hold liquid H2O on the planet’s surface [Credit: UCLA] |
Shields collaborated on the study amongst astronomers Rory Barnes, Eric Agol, Benjamin Charnay, Cecilia Bitz together with Victoria Meadows, all of the University of Washington, where Shields earned her doctorate. To decide whether the planet could sustain life, the squad came upwards amongst possible scenarios most what its atmosphere mightiness locomote similar together with what the shape of its orbit mightiness be.
"We industrial plant life at that topographic point are multiple atmospheric compositions that let it to locomote warm plenty to accept surface liquid water," said Shields, a University of California President's Postdoctoral Program Fellow. "This makes it a potent candidate for a habitable planet."
On Earth, carbon dioxide makes upwards 0.04 per centum of the atmosphere. Because Kepler-62f is much further away from its star than globe is from the sun, it would withdraw to accept dramatically to a greater extent than carbon dioxide to locomote warm plenty to hold liquid H2O on its surface, together with to continue from freezing.
The squad ran reckoner simulations based on Kepler-62f having:
- An atmosphere that ranges inward thickness from the same every bit Earth's all the way upwards to 12 times thicker than our planet's.
- Various concentrations of carbon dioxide inward its atmosphere, ranging from the same amount every bit is inward the Earth's atmosphere upwards to 2,500 times that level.
- Several dissimilar possible configurations for its orbital path.
They industrial plant life many scenarios that let it to locomote habitable, assuming dissimilar amounts of carbon dioxide inward its atmosphere.
Shields said that for the planet to locomote consistently habitable throughout its entire year, it would require an atmosphere that is 3 to 5 times thicker than Earth's together with composed alone of carbon dioxide. (This would locomote analogous to replacing every molecule inward Earth's atmosphere amongst carbon dioxide, which agency that the planet would accept 2,500 times to a greater extent than carbon dioxide inward its atmosphere.) Having such a high concentration of carbon dioxide would locomote possible for the planet because, given how far it is from its star, the gas could construct upwards inward the planet's atmosphere every bit temperatures teach colder to continue the planet warm.
"But if it doesn't accept a machinery to generate lots of carbon dioxide inward its atmosphere to continue temperatures warm, together with all it had was an Earth-like amount of carbon dioxide, for certain orbital configurations could let Kepler-62f's surface temperatures to temporarily teach higher upwards freezing during a constituent of its year," she said. "And this mightiness assist melt H2O ice sheets formed at other times inward the planet's orbit."
The scientists made their calculations of the shape of the planet's possible orbital path using an existing reckoner model called HNBody, together with they used existing global climate models (the Community Climate System Model together with the Laboratoire de Me´te´orologie Dynamique Generic model) to imitate its climate. It was the commencement fourth dimension astronomers accept combined results from these 2 dissimilar types of models to study an exoplanet, the term for a planet exterior our solar system.
Shields said the same technique could locomote applied to sympathise whether exoplanets much closer to globe could locomote habitable, together with then long every bit the planets are probable to locomote rocky, Shields said. (Gas planets accept real dissimilar compositions.)
"This volition assist us sympathise how probable for certain planets are to locomote habitable over a broad hit of factors, for which nosotros don't even together with then accept information from telescopes," she said. "And it volition let us to generate a prioritized listing of targets to follow upwards on to a greater extent than closely amongst the side past times side generation of telescopes that tin dismiss await for the atmospheric fingerprints of life on some other world."
Scientists exercise non know whether life could be on an exoplanet, but Shields is optimistic most finding life inward the universe.
More than 2,300 exoplanets accept been confirmed, together with a few k others are considered planet candidates, but but a brace dozen are known to locomote inward the "habitable zone"—meaning that they orbit their star at a distance that could enable them to locomote warm plenty to accept liquid H2O on their surfaces, Shields said.
The question is published online inward the mag Astrobiology.
Author: Stuart Wolpert | Source: University of California, Los Angeles [May 27, 2016]
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