An article published in one of the latest edition of the scientific journal International Journal of Astrobiology suggests that, according to scientists, taking into account all the circumstances, humankind is more likely to find an extraterrestrial life next to space bodies that astronomers used to call “red dwarf ".
In this article, scientists explain that “red dwarfs” very densely “inhabit” the Universe. It is noted that about 70 percent of stars can be classified as "red dwarf". These cosmic bodies, which some scientists call "M class" dwarf stars, are usually stars whose size is 10-20 percent of the size of our Sun. By the way, here it should be noted that these stars can not be called bright. In fact, they can be up to 50 times dimmer than our own star in the solar system.
Scientists point out that if you consider the presence of a huge number of “red dwarfs” in the Universe, then they are most likely the most suitable candidates for searching extraterrestrial life around them. The fact that around the stars of this type are very often found around the planet planets is added to the piggy bank supporting this opinion.
Trying to figure out how likely the possibility that the “M class” dwarf stars are designed to support life, Brad Hansen, an astrophysicist from the University of California at Los Angeles (USA), tried to collect all the facts about them, and then collected and analyzed several based on these data computer models.
According to the portal Phys.org, the computer models created have allowed the scientist to come to a conclusion as to what the probability of the formation of low-mass planets around red dwarf stars is, and where exactly these planets could be located.
Hansen found that next to those "M-class" stars, whose mass is about 50 percent lower than the mass of our Sun and whose protoplanetary disks contain one-sixth of gas and dust compared to the mass of the Earth, they can maintain an average of 4-6 planets. One or two of these planets, most likely, will be located inside the "habitable zone" of the star, which means that they may contain huge reserves of water (according to some calculations of computer models - up to 25 times more volume than on Earth), and therefore, life can be on them.
“We were able to show that almost every planetary system, in whatever manner it was formed, contains at least one planet located in the“ habitable zone ”of its star. And if there were water on these planets, then living organisms could appear in it. ”
“The results of our research support the view that the inhabited planets are for the most part most likely near the“ M-class ”dwarf stars,” the scientist reports in the journal.
“The high density of clusters of potentially habitable planets increases the chances that one of them will eventually end up being habitable,” adds an astrophysicist.
And yet the conclusions about where the extraterrestrial life may actually be located are not the same thing as the discovery of extraterrestrial life itself. Nevertheless, the scientific community is becoming more and more confident that this event is only a matter of time.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment