Astronomers have found evidence of what five steps take to get us closer to finding life beyond our solar system. It is about Kepler-34, Kepler-35, Kepler-38, Kepler-64 and Kepler-413. These multiple star systems are located between 2,764 and 5,933 light years distant from Earth in the constellations of Lyra and Cygnus.
All could harbor life
“Life is much more likely to evolve on planets located within the habitable zone of its system, like Earth,” says Nikolaos Georgakarakos, an astronomer in the Division of Sciences at New York University in Abu Dhabi and co-author of work published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.
“We have long known that binary star systems without giant planets have the potential to host habitable worlds. What we have shown here is that in a large fraction of those systems, Earth-like planets can remain habitable even in the presence of planets. giants, “says Ian Dobbs-Dixon, also of New York University in Abu Dhabi.
Revealing discovery
Its discovery has been possible thanks to a recently developed mathematical framework that has shown how these five systems each have a permanent “Habitable Zone”.
“A habitable zone is a region of space near stars where liquid water can form and remain on the surface of an Earth-like planet. One of the systems, Kepler-64, has at least four stars orbiting each other in their center . But while the others have only two each, they are all known to host at least one giant planet equal to or larger than the size of Neptune, “say the experts.
During their research, the scientists also confirmed previous studies that suggested that Kepler-16 and Kepler-1647 were not suitable for hosting a terrestrial planet within its classical habitable zone.
In the same way, all five systems, especially Kepler-38, would be suitable for hosting Earth-like worlds with oceans.
Guiño a Star Wars
These systems are likely to be the focus of considerable interest in the next decade, as the various telescopes that are planned for the next few years aimed at hunting exoplanets are launched. But the good thing about this work is the proof of concept: “Our study confirms that even binary star systems with giant planets are hot targets in the search for Earth 2.0. Watch out Tatooine, we’re coming!” says Georgakarakos, referring to the fictional habitable planet devised in the Star Wars franchise (Star Wars) by American film director George Lucas, who conceived a world called Tatooine that was nothing but a desert planet orbiting a couple of stars , in which intelligent life could enjoy the light in a double sunset.
Referencia: Nikolaos Georgakarakos et al. Circumbinary Habitable Zones in the Presence of a Giant Planet. Front. Astron. Space Sci, published online April 15, 2021; doi: 10.3389/fspas.2021.640830
