Super Earth has the perfect climate for life

Research by American scientists shows that the conditions on the planet Kepler-62f at 1,200 light-years from Earth are very favorable for development.

Kepler-62f planet is 1,200 light-years from Earth.(Photo: NASA).

In a study published on May 13 in the journal Astrobiology, American scientists concluded that the planet named Kepler-62f converged to qualify for life development. The planet is about 40% larger than Earth and is the outermost of the five planets orbiting a smaller star with temperatures lower than the Sun. However, Kepler-62f is 1,200 light-years from Earth, according to IFL Science.

When Kepler-62f was discovered by the Kepler space telescope , researchers knew very little about the planet. The team at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Washington used computer simulations to calculate conditions on the planet's surface.

The size of the planets that favor life when placed next to Earth with the order from left to right is Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Earth.(Photo: NASA).

" We found that many atmospheric components allow the planet to warm up enough for liquid water to exist on the surface. This turns Kepler-62f into a heavyweight candidate to fit into a possible planetary group. live, "said Aomawa Shields, postdoctoral fellow in astronomy and astrophysics at UCLA, the study's lead author.

The planet's trajectory is the first element to be calculated. To perform the calculation, the team applied the famous HNBody computer model, combined with two other climate change models to simulate Kepler-62f's weather conditions when the planet orbits its parent star.

Models that assume Kepler-62f's atmosphere is one to 12 times thicker than the Earth's atmosphere. The team also considered the density of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, from the level of Earth to 2,500 times higher.

The early Earth had an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide due to long-term volcanic activity.(Photo: IM_photo).

Based on an understanding of the microbial life and brightness of the parent star, Kepler-62f can only become a perfectly favorable place for life if its atmosphere is three to five times thicker than Earth and contains all co2 gas. These conditions ensure that the greenhouse effect takes place and makes the planet warm enough for micro-life forms to appear.

The most probable parameters due to the computational model show that the distance between the planet and the parent star is far enough to allow CO2 gas to accumulate gradually in the atmosphere over time. Even in the case of CO2 at the same level as Earth, Kepler-62f's temperature is still above the level that causes water to freeze most of the time of the year. If water, CO2 and photosynthetic life forms exist, these conditions can transform Kepler-62f atmosphere into future oxygen storage.