If we assume that everything we know starts with the known, in this example planet Earth, may there be a planet that is even more favorable to life than ours?
As strange as it may sound, there is a rocky exoplanet that may be habitable, and its surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere are all capable of supporting life similar to that found on Earth.
In our solar system, only the Earth—at least as far as we are aware—is home to life. The planet Kepler-442b, which is regarded as being very habitable, is the subject.
What is a super livable planet?
In our Milky Way galaxy, there are millions of planets, but the frequency of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone is far lower. A planet must have a biosphere similar to Earth’s in order to support life, as plants use oxygenic photosynthesis to transform light and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food.
As a result, the research focuses on environments similar to Earth where oxygen-based photosynthesis can take place. However, since oxygenic photosynthesis—the most significant biological process on Earth—requires liquid water, only exoplanets with the ideal surface temperature—neither too hot nor too cold—could support such processes. The process of photosynthesis will be much more difficult if there is not enough radiation.
According to an analysis published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Kepler 442b receives the most photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of all the exoplanets studied in this study and could theoretically support the same amount of life as Earth.
However, what makes it more habitable than Earth?
According to their statement, their goal is to determine the photon flux, exergy, and exergetic efficiency of radiation in the wavelength range suitable for oxygenic photosynthesis as a function of the host star’s effective temperature and the planet’s distance from the star. the specialists.
According to the researchers, some of the known Kepler and K2 planets, such as Kepler-442b, have higher H values than Earth, indicating that they are more likely to be habitable.
How probable is it that Kepler-442b harbors life?
Two-thirds of the light that falls on Earth reaches Kepler-442b, which is 2.36 times the mass of Earth and has a 97% chance of being in a habitable zone.
It orbits a red dwarf star that is smaller and cooler than our Sun, takes up to 112.3 days to complete its orbit, and is located approximately 1,206 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Lyra (home to the famous star Vega).
The planet was found in 2015 by N.A.S.A’s Kepler and K2 satellites using the transit technique. Its star is 0.409 astronomical units away from it.
It is one of the planets most likely to support life and a super-Earth with a radius that is 1.34 times that of Earth. More stony planets like this are anticipated to be found because to the James Webb Space Telescope’s installation and its advanced technology. It’s also possible that alien biospheres are different from our own. In some biospheres, for instance, photosynthesis is not even present.
Giovanni Covone, Riccardo M. Ienco, Luca Cacciapuoti, and Laura Inno. Efficiency of oxygenic photosynthesis on Earth-like planets in the habitable zone. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, volume 505, issue 3, pages 3329–3335, August 2021.
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