Life in Space? Scientists Suggest We Look for Earth's Twin

Scientists suggest astronomers should be doing more to find ultra-cool dwarfs
The planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System, is seen in an undated artist's impression released by the European Southern Observatory on August 24, 2016.... ESO/M. Kornmesser/Handout via Reuters

For years, scientists have been hell-bent on finding aliens. However, a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Liège recently suggested astronomers should be spending more time trying to find other planets where humans could potentially live one day.

The team recently discovered a new planetary system orbiting around a nearby star named TRAPPIST-1A, which they classified as an ultra-cool dwarf. The researchers proposed one of the seven planets orbiting the star could provide suitable living conditions for humans one day. All of the planets were comparable to Earth's size and mass and had temperate conditions, which the researchers said could potentially sustain water under the right conditions.

Although TRAPPISTA didn't give off nearly as much light as the sun—the star only omitted about 0.05 percent of light comparable to the sun—three of the planets orbiting the star still received as much energy from the ultra-cool dwarf as Earth receives from the sun.

In their paper, which was released by Aeon Tuesday, the researchers said searching for more ultra-cool dwarf systems that could be housing Earth's twin could be an easier mission than looking for other forms of life outside of Earth, especially since some astronomers have already discovered molecules of water, carbon monodixe, hydrogen cyanide and methane on other giant planets in the solar system.

If any of the Earth-like planets in the TRAPPISTA-1A system contain greenhouse gasses that can be manipulated to sustain water, then scientists will be even closer to discovering Earth's twin. Not to mention, TRAPPISTA-1A, which was named after the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescopes facility, is just one of many ultra-cool dwarf stars floating in space. So there could be even more rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting unidentified ultra-cool dwarfs that are just waiting to be discovered.

The researchers said they hoped to find more Earth-sized planets within the next five years using a planet survey called SPECULOOS—or Search for habitable Planets Eclipsing Ultra-Cool Stars—to help them determine environments that could be manipulated to match Earth's.

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