A new and impressive study has just revealed how Earth is not the only planet that orbits its parent star by maintaining an equidistant circular orbit, thus supporting life conditions. There are at least 74 more earth sized exoplanets that also orbit parent stars with the same distance parameters.
This may be a very insightful piece of information that supports the existence of alien life. Our far-distance relatives seem to reveal themselves slowly, shedding light on larger than life mysteries. Since the beginning of time astronomers have wondered if the solar system’s circular orbits are a particularity or rather a common presence in the universe.
The new research, performed by students and astronomers from MIT and Aarhus University in Denmark unveils the common life pattern that can offer precious clues on extraterrestrial life, supported by other celestial bodies that orbit a parent star that feeds them with life conditions.
The 74 such exoplanets were located hundreds of light years away and have been observed while orbiting their respective stars in circular patterns, very much like the planets in our solar system.
The fascination and wonder provided by our solar system which looks like rings orbiting a bulls-eye is not a question of uniqueness and if this was just a thought coming from the realm of fantasy, facts prove that alternative life patterns do exist in the universe. Each of the 74 exoplanets keep a roughly circular path, maintaining the same distance from their parent star.
Astrophysical Journal unfolds in surprising pieces of information, explaining how similar life conditions can be possible in other orbits. And this is solely the starting point for a more extended research meant to break all mysteries.
As scientists explain, for a planet to be habitable, it needs to be about the size of the Earth, small and compact enough to be made of rock rather than gas. When a small planet maintains its circular orbit, it makes life not only possible but mostly probable, as it supports a stable climate year round. For a change, if a planet has a more eccentric orbit, life conditions are hardened, as swings in climate make life conditions harsh and exposed to extreme temperature shifts.
Smaller planets are found on common basis, with the help of a method called transit-detection, consisting of complex studies of the light revealed by a star, in search of plunges in starlight that signal when a planet crosses or travels in front of that particular star, path signaled by diminished light. In common knowledge, this method only sheds light over a planet’s existence, not its orbit as well. However, researchers from Denmark and MIT together found a way to collect orbital information from stellar transit data and their innovation brought even more insightful and innovative pieces of news.
Image Source: smithsonianmag.com
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