There are now a total of 50 exoplanets far beyond our solar system, that are of interest to astronomers and astrophysicists across the globe
In the search for exoplanets, the key goal is to find worlds that sit in the habitable “Goldilocks Zone,” a region that is neither too close nor too far from a star, but just close enough to sustain liquid water.
For years Nasa considered the habitable zone to be a “remarkably small” portion of space. But research in the field proves the conditions needed to sustain life are much broader than initially presumed.
The US space agency said: “In the past 30 years our knowledge of life in extreme environments has exploded.
“Scientists have found microbes in nuclear reactors, microbes that love acid, microbes that swim in boiling-hot water.
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“Whole ecosystems have been discovered around deep sea vents where sunlight never reaches and the emerging vent-water is hot enough to melt lead.
“The Goldilocks Zone is bigger than we thought.”
Here are some of the most exciting exoplanets that could host life.
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Exoplanets need to sit in the habitable “Goldilocks Zone” to sustain liquid water
KOI-7923.01
Astronomers and scientists manning the powerful Kepler space telescope made a startling discovery in October 2017, when they uncovered 20 new and potentially habitable planets.
Among the most exciting of discoveries is exoplanet KOI-7923.01.
The planet is roughly about 97 per cent the size of Earth and has an orbital period of 395 days – the only caveat is that it is likely covered in a cold tundra, similar to Siberia.
But the planet is still warm enough to maintain liquid water, a prerequisite needed for sustaining life.
Nasa’s Jeff Coughlin believes the discovery of KOI-7923.01, has the potential for a future space colonisation mission.
He told News Scientist: “If you had to choose one to send a spacecraft to, it’s not a bad option.”
But the list of Kepler’s discoveries could contain more hidden gems within its records. The telescope observed an incredible 150,000 stars between 2009 and 2013.
In fact, the 20 selected planets were chosen from a pool of 8,054 “Kepler Objects of Interest”, which were then whittled down to 4,034 exoplanet candidates.
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There are 50 potentially habitable exoplanets that have beed discovered
Proxima b
The closest star cluster to our solar system, could hold the key to finding habitable planets.
In August 2016, the world of astrophysics was rocked when scientists discovered a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, some 4.22 light years away.
The rocky planet, dubbed Proxima b, is about 1.3 times the mass of Earth and warm enough to maintain liquid water on the surface.
The closest star to us has a possible rocky planet in the habitable zone. That’s a huge deal
The “game changing” discovery was hailed for opening up the possibility of habitable planets existing within our sight.
Olivier Guyon, a planet-hunter at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: “This is really a game-changer in our field.
“The closest star to us has a possible rocky planet in the habitable zone. That’s a huge deal.
“It also boosts the already existing, mounting body of evidence that such planets are near, and that several of them are probably sitting quite close to us. This is extremely exciting.”
Proxima Centauri
The Proxima Centauri cluster could very well be home to several habitable exoplanets on top of Proxima b.
The discovery of a band of cosmic dust nearby the star, points to the existence of a whole multi-planet system.
Guillem Anglada, who led the research team behind the astounding study, said: “This result suggests that Proxima Centauri may have a multiple-planet system with a rich history of interactions that resulted in the formation of a dust belt.
“Further study may also provide information that might point to the locations of as-yet unidentified additional planets.”
Proxima Centauri sits roughly 4.22 light years away from our sun, and is about the same age.
The dusty belt surrounding the Proxima Centauri has roughly the same temperature as our solar system, of around -230 C (328 F).
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TRAPPIST-1: At least seven potential worlds sit in the TRAPPIST-1 system
TRAPPIST-1
One system closely observed by the Chilean Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST), is the TRAPPIST-1 system.
Back in May 2016, researchers finally caught a glimpse of seven Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting the TRAPPIST-1 ultra-cool dwarf.
The planets’ densities suggest they are rocky, but at least several of them could contain liquid water.
Lead researcher Michael Gillon said: “The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star.
“It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds.”
The most interesting thing about TRAPPIST-1, is that the ultra-cool dwarf is so cool that water could even survive on the planets closest to it – unlike Earth’s sun.