A University of Michigan astronomer and his team are suggesting a new way to expand the search for habitable planets that takes into account a zone not previously considered: the space between the star and what’s called soot-line in planet-forming disks.
Worlds that form in this region—a disk of dust rotating around a central star from which planets may be built—could have surfaces rich in volatile carbon compounds quite different from Earth’s. These planets would also be rich in organic carbon, but water poor, according to Ted Bergin, who led the study that included geochemists, planetary scientists, astrochemists and exoplanet experts.
When we search for Earth-like planets, we are particularly interested not only in bodies that look like ours, but also in those that are formed by processes similar to ours. Current models of rocky exoplanets are built using Earth-like atmospheric conditions and bulk composition, including the molecules essential for life that form from carbon-based building blocks and water. These models also focus on zones within planet-forming disks called ice lines, regions distant enough from the disk’s center star which mark where water or other key molecules transition from gas to solid phases.
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