Extraterrestrial life is a big step for a new class in the search for survival

Astronomers have identified a completely different type of exoplanet from our group, but it can support life, which greatly speeds up the search for life outside our solar system.

Astronomers have been looking elsewhere for planets with the same size, mass, temperature and composition as the Earth’s atmosphere. However, astronomers at the University of Cambridge believe there are more promising opportunities.

Researchers have discovered a new class of planets called “Hyson” planets – warmer planets covered by oceans and hydrogen-rich atmospheres – that are more common than Earth-like planets.

The researchers say the results have been reported Journal of AstrophysicsThis could mean that in the next two or three years it will be possible to locate key fingerprints outside our solar system.

Nico Madhusudhanan, a researcher at the Cambridge Astronomical Institute, said:

Many of the primary marine candidates identified by researchers are larger and warmer than Earth, but they still have excellent marine hosting properties that can support larger oceans. Microbial life Similar to that found in some extreme aquatic environments on Earth.

These planets allow for a much larger habitable zone or “golden zone” compared to Earth-like planets. This means they can still support life even if it is outside the range where an Earth-like planet should be habitable.

Thousands of non-solar planets have been discovered since the first Exoplanet was discovered nearly 30 years ago. Most planets are between the dimensions of Earth and Neptune, and are often referred to as “Super-Earths” or “Mini-Neptunes”: they are often rocky planets or hydrogen-rich atmospheres or something like ice giants in between.

Most small Neptunes are 1.6 times larger than Earth: smaller than Neptune, but too large to have an Earth-like rock interior. Previous studies of such planets have found that the pressure and temperature below their hydrogen-rich atmosphere are too high to sustain life.

However, a recent study by the brewing team of miniature Neptune K2-18b found that, under certain conditions, these planets could support life. As a result, the possible full planetary and stellar characteristics of these conditions, the Exoplanets could meet these conditions, and whether their life signatures were noticeable were studied in detail.

As a result of the investigation, researchers have discovered a new class of planets – the planet of the ocean – the vast planetary oceans under the hydrogen-rich atmosphere. Oceanic planets are 2.6 times larger than Earth and may have an atmospheric temperature of about 200 C, but marine conditions can cause microbial growth in the Earth’s oceans. These planets have gradually closed ocean worlds that can only be inhabited forever, and “cold” ocean worlds that receive little radiation from the stars.

Planets of this size dominate the group of known exoplanets, although they have not been studied as extensively as the surface. Ocean worlds are probably the most common, meaning the most promising places to look for life elsewhere in the galaxy may be hidden.

However, size alone is not enough to confirm that a planet is an ocean type: other factors, such as mass, temperature, and atmospheric properties, are required for approval.

When trying to determine the conditions of a planet many light-years away, astronomers must first determine if the planet exists. In the residential area After that star, look for molecular signatures to predict the planet’s atmosphere and surface conditions, the existence of the oceans and the internal structure that controls the possibility of life.

Astronomers are also looking for some biometric fingerprints to indicate the possibility of life. The most common are oxygen, ozone, methane and nitric oxide, all of which are present on Earth. There are many biomarkers such as methyl chloride and dimethyl sulfide, which are scarce on Earth, but they may be promising indicators of life on planets that are deficient in oxygen or ozone in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

“Basically, when looking for these different molecular signatures, we focused on planets like Earth, which is a sensible place to start,” Madhusudan said. “But we think Hogan planets still have a great chance of finding many more biometric fingerprints.”

“It’s exciting to have the conditions to live on very different planets from Earth,” said co-author Anjali Byte from Cambridge.

Madhusudhanan and his team discovered that many terrestrial biological markers that may be present in the Hosean atmosphere could be easily detected in the future using spectroscopic observations. The large size, high temperature, and hydrogen-rich atmosphere of the Hogan planets make their atmospheric signature more visible than that of an Earth-like planet.

The Cambridge team has identified a major potential model for the Heisen world, leading candidates for detailed research using next-generation telescopes such as the James Web Web Space Telescope (JWST) to be released this year. These are Planets All red dwarf stars orbiting at 35-150 light-years away: close to astronomical standards. JWST’s planned observations of the promising candidate K2-18b may lead to the detection of one or more biological signature molecules.

“The invention of a biometric fingerprint will change our understanding of life in the universe,” Madhusudan said. “We need to be open about where we expect life to be and how that life will unfold, because nature constantly amazes us in ways we can’t even imagine.”