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Neilster -> RE: Solar System Discovered With Three Planets In The "Goldilocks" Zone (2/24/2017 2:03:48 AM)
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The problem with planets in the habitable zone of these very low mass stars is that they are very often tidally locked. That is, like our Moon they rotate once per orbit, and hence always present the same "face" to the larger body. This doesn't preclude life, but it's more difficult to see how it could evolve. There may be a mild twilight region between the two sides, but there are still likely to be intense winds. People talk blithely about how "There must be alien life", without realising what a favourable place Earth is.
I'd like to agree with them, and I'm aware of the potential number of planets but we need evidence. Earth is just the right distance from just the right kind of star and it's just the right size with just the right sized moon etc etc. Also, it appears our solar system is highly unusual. Refer to the Fermi Paradox.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox
TRAPPIST-1 is only 39.5 light years away, which is next door in astronomical terms. The next generation of telescopes will observe it intensely. The James Webb Space Telescope, the replacement for Hubble, should be launched next year. After that will be the European Extremely Large Telescope, in Chile, with a 39m primary mirror. These incredible telescopes will potentially have the power to resolve Earth-sized planets around nearby stars. TRAPPIST-1 is dim, which really helps, as a bright star tends to drown out its planets with its light.
The holy grail is to detect oxygen or ozone (formed from oxygen) in a planetary atmosphere. These telescopes will potentially do that, if it's there. Oxygen is so reactive that it's difficult to see how it can be in the atmosphere in quantity unless something is pumping it in. On Earth, that's plants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Extremely_Large_Telescope
Below is the James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror.
Cheers, Neilster
[image]local://upfiles/10515/BFBE4F1DD78C439294D665C7DD6E3A9A.jpg[/image]
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