In a distant part of the galaxy, 1,200 light years away, there is a space object that has attracted special attention from the scientific community because of its resemblance to Earth. Kepler-62 f, 40% larger than our planet and probably rocky , is part of a system made up of four other worlds that revolve around a star smaller and cooler than the Sun. Now, a study led by astrophysicist Aomawa Shields, from the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that it might be uniquely gifted to host life.
Discovered in 2013 by NASA's Kepler mission, Kepler-62f shows promising features in this regard. The essential condition is that the planetary surface has a temperature sufficiently warm so that there is water in a liquid state . And since Kepler-62f is quite far from its star, the heating effect could be generated with an atmosphere between three and five times denser than ours and composed entirely of carbon dioxide , something that is within the probable. In the Earth's atmosphere, C02 makes up just 0.04%.
And if this does not happen, there is another solution: that the orbit of the exoplanet causes temperatures above freezing during some periods of the year. To see if this was possible, they have combined for the first time in studies of extrasolar planets an orbital and a climate computerized model. Shields believes his approach could be used to investigate other exworlds closer to Earth.
The work has been published in the journal Astrobiology .
