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Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.. Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain an environment hospitable to life. [1]
Most of the exoplanets discovered have been detected by the Kepler space telescope, which uses the transit method to find planets around other systems. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] This procedure analyzes the brightness of stars to detect dips that indicate the passage of a planetary object in front of them from the perspective of the observatory. [ 35 ]
This is a list of exoplanets within the circumstellar habitable zone that are either under 10 Earth masses or smaller than 2.5 Earth radii, and thus have a chance of being rocky. [ 3 ] [ 1 ] Note that inclusion on this list does not guarantee habitability, and in particular the larger planets are more unlikely to have a rocky composition. [ 4 ]
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can strip away a planet's atmosphere that is not replaceable. Thus life habitable zones require and very stable star like the Sun, at ±0.1% solar luminosity change. [10] [11] Finding a stable star, like the Sun, is the search for a solar twin, with solar analogs that have been found. [12]
To support an Earth-like atmosphere for about 4.6 billion years (Earth's current age), a moon with a Mars-like density is estimated to need at least 7% of Earth's mass. [20] One way to decrease loss from sputtering is for the moon to have a strong magnetic field of its own that can deflect stellar wind and radiation belts.
The violent flaring period of a red dwarf's life cycle is estimated to last for only about the first 1.2 billion years of its existence. If a planet forms far away from a red dwarf so as to avoid atmospheric erosion, and then migrates into the star's habitable zone after this turbulent initial period, it is possible for life to develop. [57]
Digital enhancement of a NASA image. Credit - Getty Images. S cientists have discovered a new planet that may be able to support human life, according to a new study.. The study, published in ...
Habitability is conventionally defined by the equilibrium temperature of a planet, which is a function of the amount of incoming radiation; a planet is defined "habitable" if liquid water can exist on its surface although even planets with little external energy can harbour underground life.