A paper detailing the discovery of two "Super-Earth" exoplanets was published last month. The key ingredients needed to support life may be found in one of these two planets.
That's a great discovery. That potentially life-supporting exoplanet, called SPECULOOS-2c, may offer more than just a climate change exit strategy. We may be able to learn a lot about our own planet's future by studying the relationship between the SPECULOOS-2c and its home star.
"This planet is interesting to us because it provides clues as to what will happen in about five billion years when our Sun starts to die and get bigger," Kaltenegger told El Pas in a translated new interview.
A red dwarf is a small, cool, hydrogen-burning star. Because they are so small, they have to be very close by. M-class red dwarfs are prone to Definitely Not Life Supporting solar flares.
The M-dECUwarf dilemma is addressed by the study, though the irradiation that it gets is low. According to Kaltenegger, the exoplanet's size as well as its potential for being able to host liquid water can help us understand how solar radiation will go down in the future.
As our Sun ages, it will likely become a red giant instead of a red dwarf, and our planet will be swallowed whole. Radiation will become intolerable for living beings and the natural world that makes life possible as it gets bigger. It might be possible to give us an exact radiation level. A ballpark figure is possible.
The planet can tell us how much radiation will cause the water to evaporate. It's five billion years into the future.
We discovered a planet that shows us what the Earth will look like in five billion years.
Scientists discovered nearby "Super- Earth" that may support life.
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