Perhaps the hunt for habitable planets has become much narrower

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There may be more planets like ours hidden in our galaxy than we previously thought. University of British Columbia. Researchers analyzed data from NASA’s Kepler mission and calculated that there could be one Earth-like planet for every five sun-like stars. In the Milky Way. They say that planets only count as Earths, for example, if their rocky worlds orbit in the habitable zones of stars like our Sun or G-type stars, and given that 7% of our galaxies, about 400 billion stars, belong to type G, researchers say their six billion stars may have had Earth as planets before. Earth-like planets are now estimated by scientists to range from 60.2 possible habitable worlds per one Sun-like star to more than one human-like star. Planets like our blue marble are usually missed in searches for distant worlds because of their small size and distant orbit from their star. But the researchers are using a technique called prospective modeling to make sure no one has been missed. Predicting how often different planets orbit stars could shed light on constraints on planet formation and evolutionary theories, they say. The study was published in the Astronomical journal. yeah mmm

A new study suggests that the hunt for habitable planets may have gotten much narrower

The hunt for life-sustaining planets may have declined dramatically. Scientists have long hoped and theorized that the most common type of star in our universe — called an M-dwarf — could host nearby planets with atmospheres potentially rich in carbon and perfect for life. But in a new study of a world orbiting an M dwarf 66 light-years from Earth, researchers found no signs that such a planet could even contain an atmosphere. Without a carbon-rich atmosphere, the planet would hardly be hospitable to life. Carbon molecules, after all, are considered the building blocks of life. And the findings don’t bode well for other types of planets orbiting M dwarfs, said study co-author Michelle Hill, a planetary scientist and doctoral student at the University of California, Riverside. “The pressure from the star’s radiation is enormous, enough to blow away the planet’s atmosphere,” Hill said in a statement on the university’s website. M dwarf stars are known to be variable, emitting solar flares and emitting radiation to nearby celestial bodies. But for years it was hoped that the fairly large dwarf planets orbiting near M might be in Goldilocks’s environment, close enough to its small star to be warmed and large enough to be caught in its atmosphere. However, according to a new study that was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. A similar phenomenon occurs in our solar system: Earth’s atmosphere also deteriorates due to explosions from a nearby star, the Sun. The difference is that Earth has enough volcanic and other gas-emitting activity to offset the atmospheric losses and make them barely noticeable, according to the study. However, the M dwarf planet considered in the study, GJ 1252b, “could have 700 times more carbon than Earth and still have no atmosphere. It would initially accumulate, but then contract and disappear,” said the study’s co-author. and UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane in a press release. How it starts and how GJ 1252b orbits less than a million miles from its parent star, named GJ_1252. The planet reaches a blistering daytime temperature of up to 2,242 degrees Fahrenheit (1,228 degrees Celsius Celsius), the study found. The planet’s existence was first suggested by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, mission. Astronomers then directed the nearly 17-year-old Spitzer Space Telescope to target the area in January 2020 — less than 10 days before , as Spitzer was deactivated for good.The investigation into whether GJ 1252b has an atmosphere was led by astronomer Ian Crosfield at the University of Kansas and involved gr by researchers from UC Riverside, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, Carnegie Institution for Science, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, McGill University, University of New Mexico, and the University of Montreal. They studied the data obtained by Spitzer for signatures of emissions, or signs that a bubble of gas might engulf the planet. The telescope captured the planet as it passed behind its host star, allowing the researchers to “look at the starlight as it passes through the planet’s atmosphere,” giving a “spectral signature of the atmosphere” — or lack thereof, Hill said. added that she wasn’t shocked to find no sign of an atmosphere, but she was disappointed. It’s looking for moons and planets in “habitable zones,” and the results have made looking at worlds around the ubiquitous M dwarf stars a little less interesting. Researchers hope to get even more clarity on these types of planets with the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope to date. Webb will soon target the TRAPPIST-1 system, “which is also an M dwarf star with a bunch of rocky planets around it,” Hill noted. “There’s a lot of hope that it will be able to tell us whether these planets have atmospheres or not,” she added. “I imagine M-dwarf enthusiasts are probably holding their breath to see if we can tell atmospheres around these planets.” However, there are still many interesting places to look for habitable worlds. Beyond the distant M-dwarf planets, which are more likely to retain atmospheres, there are still about 1,000 Sun-like stars relative to Earth that may have their own planets orbiting in habitable zones, UC Riverside said in a statement about the study.

Hunting for planets that could have life perhaps just sharply narrowed.

Scientists have long hoped and theorized that the most common type of star in our universe—called an M dwarf—could host nearby planets with atmospheres potentially rich in carbon and ideal for life. But in a new study of a world orbiting an M dwarf 66 light-years from Earth, researchers found no signs that such a planet could even contain an atmosphere.

Without a carbon-rich atmosphere, the planet would hardly be hospitable to living things. Carbon molecules, after all, are considered the building blocks of life. And the findings don’t bode well for other types of planets orbiting M dwarfs, said study co-author Michelle Hill, a planetary scientist and doctoral student at the University of California, Riverside.

“The pressure from the star’s radiation is enormous, enough to blow up the planet’s atmosphere,” Hill said in a message on the university’s website.

M-dwarf stars are known to be variable, throwing off solar flares and emitting radiation to nearby celestial bodies.

But for years there has been hope that fairly large planets orbiting M-dwarfs might be in Goldilocks’s environment, close enough to its small star to retain heat and large enough to cling to its atmosphere.

However, the nearest M dwarf may be too intense to keep the atmosphere intact a new studywhich was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

A similar phenomenon occurs in our solar system: Earth’s atmosphere is also degraded by flares from a nearby star, the Sun. The difference is that Earth has enough volcanic and other gas-spewing activity to offset atmospheric losses and make them barely noticeable, according to the study.

However, the M dwarf planet considered in the study GJ 1252b“There could be 700 times more carbon than Earth and it still wouldn’t have an atmosphere. It builds up first, but then it tapers off and disappears,” study co-author and UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Cain said in a news release.

How it starts and how it goes

GJ 1252b orbits less than a million miles from its parent star, named GJ_1252. The study found that daytime temperatures on the planet reach 2,242 degrees Fahrenheit (1,228 degrees Celsius).

The planet’s existence was first revealed by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS. Astronomers then ordered the nearly 17-year-old Spitzer space telescope to target the area in January 2020 — less than 10 days before Spitzer was deactivated for good.

The study of whether GJ 1252b has an atmosphere was led by astronomer Ian Crossfield of the University of Kansas and involved a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Maryland, the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, McGill University , University of New Mexico and University of Montreal.

They studied the data obtained by Spitzer for signatures of emissions, or signs that a bubble of gas might engulf the planet. The telescope captured the planet as it passed behind its host star, allowing researchers to “look at the starlight as it passes through the planet’s atmosphere,” providing a “spectral signature of the atmosphere” — or lack thereof, Hill said.

Hill added that she wasn’t shocked to find no sign of an atmosphere, but she was disappointed. It’s looking for moons and planets in “habitable zones,” and the results have made looking at worlds orbiting the ubiquitous M dwarf stars less interesting.

Researchers hope to get even more clarity on these types of planets with the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope to date.

Webb will soon take aim at TRAPPIST-1 system“which is also an M dwarf star with a bunch of rocky planets around it,” Hill noted.

“There is great hope that it will be able to tell us whether these planets have atmospheres or not,” she added. “I imagine M-dwarf enthusiasts must be holding their breath to see if we can determine if there is an atmosphere around these planets.”

However, there are still many interesting places to hunt for habitable worlds. Beyond the distant M-dwarf planets, which are more likely to retain atmospheres, there are still about 1,000 Sun-like stars relative to Earth that may have their own planets orbiting in habitable zones, UC Riverside said in a statement on the study. .

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