Caracas, January 16, 2015 .- The probability that there are billions of planets capable of having liquid water and harbor life is more real than many thought , according to a new study.
“The planets with potential oceans could have a climate much like the Earth than expected, “said Jeremy Leconte as a postdoctoral fellow of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) of University of Toronto, and lead author of a study published in Science.
Until recently, scientists believed that most exoplanets had a different behavior to that of Earth, which made them rotate around its star always showing one of its hemispheres. This would cause such planets have one side in perpetual darkness and freezing temperatures.
However, Leconte study suggests that as exoplanets orbiting their stars, they do it at a speed that allows them to have a day-night cycle similar to ours. “If we are right, there is a cold side of permanent night exoplanets that causes the water remains trapped by a layer of gigantic ice. It is still unknown whether this new understanding of climate on exoplanets increases the likelihood that these planets develop life. “
The astronomers arrived at their conclusions using a three-dimensional climate model developed to predict the effect of the atmosphere at a given speed of rotation planet, leading to changes in the weather. / CLAA.
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