Liquid water on non-terrestrial planets

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Even planets that have very different atmospheres from Earth can hold liquid water for long periods of time, a new study suggests. This finding suggested that the concept of planetary habitability should be reconsidered. Researchers from the universities of Bern and Zurich report this on Monday in the journal “Nature Astronomy”.

The team led by PhD student Marit Mol Lous has modeled whether planets with atmospheres of hydrogen and helium can maintain a climate that allows liquid water on the planet’s surface. The Earth’s atmosphere initially consisted mainly of these two elements. Over time, it lost this primordial atmosphere in favor of the heavier elements oxygen and nitrogen. However, large rocky exoplanets can maintain such primordial atmospheres.

Circumstances can last for a very, very long time
As the researchers found with simulations, liquid water conditions could prevail on the surface of such exoplanets, provided the atmosphere is thick enough to cause a high enough greenhouse gas effect. If enough geothermal heat reaches the surface, the intense radiation from a star like the sun isn’t even necessary, Marit Mol Lous said.

According to the researcher, the results showed “that these conditions can persist for very long periods of time — up to tens of billions of years.” This is an important finding, as life on Earth likely took tens of millions of years to evolve.

Results to be taken with caution
While the results are exciting, they should be taken with caution, said study co-author Christoph Mordasini, a professor of theoretical astrophysics at the University of Bern: “Because such planets must have liquid water in the long run, they must have the right atmospheres.” . . We don’t know how often this is the case.” And even under the right conditions, there’s no way of knowing how likely life will develop there.”That’s a question for astrobiology,” Mordasini says.

Source: Krone

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