AN EARTH-SIZED EXOPLANET MIGHT BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN LIFE SAYS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU DHABI RESEARCHER

NYU Abu Dhabi (New York University Abu Dhabi) researcher at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, Mohamad Ali-Dib, believes that an Exoplanet which is 90 light years away from earth might be able to sustain life. While we will never go there according to Ali-Dib given the current technology available, the planet is interesting because it might be able to sustain life.

Mohamad Ali-Dib contributed to the paper, entitled “A temperate Earth-sized planet with tidal heating transiting an M6 star” published in the journal Nature.

The Exoplanet

The name of the Exoplanet is LP 79118- d. It is almost the same size as earth and is about 1.5 million years away to reach with our current technology.

The team that Ali-Dib participated in, led by the University of Montreal, discovered and studied the planet using NASA’s Spitzer Space telescope and transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) along with many other observatories. Mohamad Ali-Dib was already well acquainted with the team from the University of Montreal given he had worked there for two years before moving to the UAE.

Temperate Earth-sized Exoplanets around late-M dwarfs offer a rare opportunity to explore the conditions under which planets can develop habitable climates. M dwarf stars have a mere fraction of the sun›s mass and luminosity but are 10 times as common in the galaxy. Planets circling an M dwarf must hence orbit close to the star to be warm enough for life.

The report noted the discovery of a temperate Earth-sized planet orbiting the cool M6 dwarf LP 79118-. The newly discovered planet, LP 79118-d, has a radius of 1.03 ± 0.04 R and an equilibrium temperature of 300–400 K, with the permanent night side plausibly allowing for water condensation.

LP 79118-d is part of a coplanar system and provides a sofar unique opportunity to investigate a temperate Exo-Earth in a system with a sub-Neptune that retained its gas or volatile envelope. The gravitational interaction with the sub-Neptune prevents the complete circularization of LP 79118-d’s orbit, resulting in a continued tidal that heats its interior and probably strong volcanic activity on the surface.

The significance of the findings

The discovered planet might be able to hold life and is of interest due to a combination of factors.

First, it might be able to undergo volcanic eruptions as often as Jupiter’s moon Io,(Io or Jupiter I, is the innermost and secondsmallest of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter) the most volcanically active body in our solar system.

Moreover, the study noted that one side of the planet permanently faces the star, which means one side is in perpetual day and the other in perpetual night. This state is referred to as Tidal Locking. This tidal locking, and the resulting volcanic activity, might allow the planet to host a significant atmosphere and can result in water condensation on its night side.

This is significant, because the ability of a planet to sustain water in liquid form is a key ingredient to its potential habitability.

Ali-Dib states, “There are several factors that make this Exoplanet so interesting, first the planet is the size of Earth, secondly the planet is probably tidally heated which is the source of its energy and volcanic activity. Finally, it orbits a low mass star, which means we can study its atmosphere much easier.”

Dr. Ali-Dib specifically led the study of the planetary system’s stability and discovered that the orbits of its planets are longterm stable.

He adds, “The planet is not gravitationally affected by the other planets due to its proximity to the star. At these close distances, tides counter («dissipate») the main gravitational effects (orbital excitation) of the other planets.”

Next Steps

Planet LP 79118- c has been approved to be observed using

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in an effort to investigate its role in sustaining life in the planetary system.

According to Ali-Dib, the James Webb Space Telescope will give more details about the planet’s atmosphere. He states, “We don›t know what that would look like exactly, this is why it is exciting.”

He adds, while it will only take hours to study the planet with the James Webb Space telescope, the time spent waiting for your turn to use the telescope, then publishing the results, is either months or sometimes years.

Ali-Dib will be part of the next phase as well.

While the study might not have direct implications for the UAE›s asteroid or lunar missions, Ali-Dib believes that these discoveries could encourage Exo-planetary research here in the UAE.