Extreme checklist for alien hunters

• Autores: Lisa Grossman
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2973, 2014, pág. 13
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • When predicting which planets beyond Earth could support life, astronomers usually follow the water. Exoplanets with rocky surfaces are declared habitable if they orbit far enough from their star to potentially host oceans. But as the planetary collection grows, and telescopes for studying them improve, some astrobiologists say it is time to narrow the hunt. Christopher McKay of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames Research Center in California has come up with an expanded "checklist" for habitability, which also considers factors like a planet's light levels, radiation exposure and atmospheric composition. Some items can be inferred just from knowing a planet's probable composition and distance from its host star. Others will require photographing the planets and examining their atmospheres. Spacecraft with those capabilities are now being developed.