Archive for the ‘Astrobiology’ Category
An international team of scientists has discovered a rocky planet like Earth type that could support life, since it is in the habitable zone around its star, the orbital band where the distance to the star is the ideal to allow temperature range not too cold or hot, right for the existence of liquid water on the surface of any planet with the appropriate characteristics to be there.
The star around which spins this planet called GJ 667C, and is a class M red dwarf, located 22 light-years from Earth. The star is part of a triple star system, and has a chemical composition that differs from that of our Sun in the abundance of elements heavier than helium, such as iron, carbon and silicon. GJ 667C is poorer than the Sun in such heavy elements.
The other two stars of this triple system are orange dwarf or K dwarf, with a concentration of heavy elements is only 25 percent of our sun. These heavy elements are common materials in the composition of rocky planets such as Earth, Mars and Venus, so it was thought unlikely that the stars around poor in heavy elements possible the formation of lower mass planets than the typical gas giant, composed largely of hydrogen and helium. Read the rest of this entry »
The discovery of diffuse interstellar bands 13 with longer wavelengths detected to date could be the key to solving a mystery 90 years old. In addition, the finding supports recent hypotheses about the presence of large molecules, possibly organic, hidden in clouds of interstellar dust.
For 90 years, diffuse interstellar bands are being detected by analyzing the starlight. No matter which direction you point a telescope in the light from virtually anywhere in the universe are detected. Its existence reveals that the light passes through clouds of gas and dust with a very complex chemical composition. Read the rest of this entry »
A sky with two suns is one of the most common images to demonstrate to the rotunda in a sci-fi is a global landscape outside our solar system. But how could be influenced the hypothetical life on a planet if it has two suns instead of just one?
Photosynthesis, which can harness sunlight for biological applications, is a direct or indirect basis on which rests most of life on Earth. It is the energy source for plants and, therefore, indirectly for the animals at the top of the food chain. With multiple light sources usable, life elsewhere in the cosmos may have been adapted for use in light of all suns, or there may be other specialized beings to use the light of either sun. This latter option may be the most likely on planets where some of the surface is illuminated by only one sun for long periods of time.
If a planet is in a system with two or more stars, would potentially several sources of energy to perform photosynthesis. The temperature of a star determines its color and, therefore, the color of the light used for photosynthesis. Depending on the colors of the stellar light, the plants may have evolved very differently. Read the rest of this entry »