Exoplanets will open doors to new discoveries

A revelation that can shook the uniqueness of Planet Earth has come forward with scientists claiming that there might be other planets outside our solar system where life can exist. Scientists have discovered and identified a group of planets which have a similar chemical composition that may have led to the existence of life on planet Earth.

According to the studies conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK, the development of life on the rocky exterior of earth can be owed to the type and strength of light radiated by its host star.

The research, proposes that stars which give off their sufficient ultraviolet (UV) light could trigger the creation of life on their orbiting planets. A similar pattern is most likely to be responsible for the development of life on Earth, where the UV light provoked a series of chemical reactions that lead to the production of the building blocks of life.

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A range of planets where the UV light from their host star is sufficient to cater these chemical compositions and reactions have been identified by the researchers. These reactions also fall under the habitable range which can mark the existence of liquid water on the planet’s surface. The researchers also found that stars whose temperature range is similar to sun emitted sufficient light for the evolution of life that can be developed on their planets.

Planets that both receive enough light to mobilize the chemical reactions and liquid water on their surfaces nest in the abiogenesis zone, as termed by the scientists. There are many known exoplanets that dwell in the abiogenesis zone and several of these planets are detected by the Kepler Telescope, Kepler 452b being one among them. Kepler 452b planet has also been nicknamed Earth’s ‘cousin’.

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Technology is yet to discover new paths and unfurl the hidden mysteries of this universe. Next-generation telescopes, such as NASA’s TESS and James Webb Telescopes, might contemplate light on identifying and probably characterising many more planets that are evolving underneath the womb of abiogenesis zone, as per the researchers.