With about 4,000 planet candidates from the Kepler Space Telescope data to analyze so far, astronomers are busy trying to figure out questions about habitability. What size planet could host life? How far from its star does it need to be? What would its atmosphere need to be made of?
Look at our own solar system, however, and there’s a big gap in the information we need. Most of the planets have moons, so surely at least some of the Kepler finds would have them as well. Tracking down these tiny worlds, however, is a challenge.
A new paper in the journal Astrobiology, called “Formation, Habitability, and Detection of Extrasolar Moons,” goes over this mostly unexplored field of extrasolar research. The scientists do an extensive literature review of what is supposed about moons beyond the Solar System, and they add intriguing new results.
A wealth of moons exist in our own solar system that could host life. Icy Europa, which is circling Jupiter, was recently discovered to have plumes of water erupting from its surface. Titan, in orbit around Saturn, is the only known moon with an atmosphere, and could have the precursor elements to life in its hydrocarbon seas that are warmed by Saturn’s heat. Other candidates for extraterrestrial hosts include Jupiter’s moons Callisto and Ganymede, as well as Saturn’s satellite Enceladus.
- See more at: http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/exomoons-abundant-sources-habitability/#sthash.dOfekvdq.dpuf
With about 4,000 planet candidates from the Kepler Space Telescope data to analyze so far, astronomers are busy trying to figure out questions about habitability. What size planet could host life? How far from its star does it need to be? What would its atmosphere need to be made of?
Look at our own solar system, however, and there’s a big gap in the information we need. Most of the planets have moons, so surely at least some of the Kepler finds would have them as well. Tracking down these tiny worlds, however, is a challenge.
A new paper in the journal Astrobiology, called “Formation, Habitability, and Detection of Extrasolar Moons,” goes over this mostly unexplored field of extrasolar research. The scientists do an extensive literature review of what is supposed about moons beyond the Solar System, and they add intriguing new results.
A wealth of moons exist in our own solar system that could host life. Icy Europa, which is circling Jupiter, was recently discovered to have plumes of water erupting from its surface. Titan, in orbit around Saturn, is the only known moon with an atmosphere, and could have the precursor elements to life in its hydrocarbon seas that are warmed by Saturn’s heat. Other candidates for extraterrestrial hosts include Jupiter’s moons Callisto and Ganymede, as well as Saturn’s satellite Enceladus.