It is possible to confirm life on three Earth-like planets over the next decade

Astronomers predict it will take only 10 years to confirm three Earth-sized planets 40 years from light.

In early May, a group of international astronomers discovered three Earth-sized planets orbiting the star Trappist-1 , only 40 light-years from Earth, and potentially suitable for life development. They predict in the next decade whether or not life will exist on these three planets.

According to Business Insider, these planets are rated to have life potential based on size and temperature. The team has identified two planets as rocky and highly atmospheric planets, similar to Earth, Venus and Mars in the solar system. The result is published in the July 20 issue of Nature.

To come to this conclusion, the team used the Hubble space telescope of the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) toward Trappist-1 to track the "double transit" phenomenon, which occurs when two planets travel. switch the front of the star at a time close to each other.

"We think the Hubble people can help with this observation. So we wrote a proposal and sent it within 24 hours. And this is the first time we've seen the star's spectrum when This phenomenon, allowing for more understanding of the atmosphere of two planets at the same time, " Julien de Wit, Ph.D. of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , USA, said.

Illustration of the perspective when standing on the surface of a planet of the star system Trappist-1.(Photo: ESO / M. Kornmesser).

Accordingly, from the star's light reduction when double transit occurred, scientists concluded that the two planets have a dense atmosphere.

According to lead researcher Michaël Gillon, a planetary system and such stars promise the possibility of survival beyond Earth.Trappist-1 is a super cold red dwarf star. Most of the time, such stars are small and light is very weak, difficult to detect with optical telescopes.

"Why should we try to detect life on Earth-like planets orbiting the smallest and coldest stars in neighboring solar systems? The reason is simple, these are the only places they We can study based on current technology , " Gillon said.

Because the two planets are so close to their stars, they are more likely to be locked in tides, which always point to the Moon-like star on Earth, leading to a very large temperature difference between the two halves. However, if these planets have an atmosphere and possibly an ocean, the heat will be evenly distributed, capable of producing suitable temperature zones for life to grow.

"We can say that these planets have rock formations. The question now is, what components do their atmospheres have?" de Wit said.

"It may be like Venus, with CO ₂ accounting for the majority, or like Earth with thick clouds, or even Mars with atmospheric exhaustion. The next step is to study all these scenarios." .

He added: "In the next 5 to 10 years, we can determine whether these planets support life, if they have the right water and temperature. The next step is the body. Whether life has formed there or not, by looking for traces of gases that can only be produced if there is life, this step will take 10-25 years. "

• Discover three earth-like planets