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Astronomers have discovered that sulfur may be a key to help us restrict us Search for life On other planets. It is not that sulfur is a great indication that the planet inhabits it. Instead, it is the opposite: large quantities of sulfur dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere are a good sign that the world is uninterrupted and we can cross safely from the list of candidates.
One of the holy cup of the hadith astronomy He finds life on a foreign planet. But this is a very difficult task. the James Web telescope for space It is unlikely to be able to determine the vital negligence – the life -producing air gases – in any nearby worlds. And the next The Observatory of Housing Worlds It will be able to wipe only a few dozen of the outer external planets.
One of the big obstacles is that the vital distribution spectra is usually very weak. So one of the ways to narrow the list of potential candidates is to focus on the planet’s ability to host life, especially in the form of water vapor in its atmosphere. If the planet has a lot of water vapor, it may have a good opportunity to host life as well.
This requirement is the basis A suitable area for housingThe area surrounding a star where radiation on a planet is not very small so that all the water freezes and not much to summarize the water. In our solar system, Venus It is located near the inner edge of the area suitable for housing, and its surface reaches temperatures more than 800 ° F (427 ° C) under a thick atmosphere that suffocates. On the opposite end, Mars It is mainly frozen, with all closed water in the polar ice covers and under the surface.
But even searching for water has difficulties. For example, from great distances, it is very difficult to know that land (Dies it) regardless of Venus (unprecedented and hostile entry). Their weather spectra is very similar when you try to search for water vapor.
In a conversation Preprint paperAstronomers note that they have found a different gas that may be a useful tool for separating the worlds that are not valid from the worlds that could be inhabitants: sulfur dioxide.
Warm, wet worlds, like Earth, have a very little sulfur dioxide in their airspace. This is because rain can pick up sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere and wash it down in the oceans or in the soil, and mainly disinfect it from the atmosphere.
Ironically, planets like Venus also have a little sulfur dioxide. In the case of that planet, high amounts of UV rays from SUnited Nations Motivating reactions that convert sulfur dioxide into hydrogen sulfide in the upper atmosphere. There is still a lot of sulfur dioxide, but it tends to decrease in the lower atmosphere, as it cannot be discovered.
Fortunately, there is another option: the planets around them Red dwarf stars. Red dwarves are very few of the UV rays. So, if a dry, uninterrupted planet revolves around such a star, many sulfur dioxide will continue in the upper faces.
Astronomers are particularly concerned with planetary systems for red dwarves. One of the reasons is that the red dwarves are the most common stars in the galaxy. The other is that many nearby systems – like our closest neighbors, Proxima CentauriBesides Trappist-1 They are the red dwarves known to host planets. This makes them very attractive goals for life searching.
Related stories:
–What makes the planet really good for housing? Our assumptions may be wrong
–We do not really understand the areas suitable for housing for strange planets
The new technology that depends on sulfur dioxide can not tell us that is, the planets that may host life, but they tell us the planets that you may not do. If we see a rocky planet revolving around a red dwarf and discover an abundance of sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere, it is likely to be like a flower – a dry and hot world with a thick atmosphere and a little water. Not a good candidate for life.
But if we fail to see any important sulfur dioxide, this world is likely to be a good candidate to note follow -up to search for signs of water vapor, and if we are lucky.
It will take a huge amount of detective’s work and a large design to find life on another planet. So any idea we can get, even on the basis of sulfur dioxide to narrow our list.
