Scientists discover 24 habitable planets that may be better than Earth

Dirk Schulze-Makuc, a geobiologist at Washington State University (WSU) led a study that published a research paper called: In Search for a Planet Better than Earth.

The paper identifies two dozen exoplanets that could be “superhabitable” worlds more suitable for life than our own. Exoplanets are planets located outside our solar system.

CRITERIA SET FOR PLANETS

The researchers created a set of criteria for planets to qualify as potentially superhabitable.

This list includes an age of between 5 billion and 8 billion years and a location within a star’s habitable zone where liquid water could exist. They also looked for stars that are cooler than our sun.

The team searched for planets that are more massive than our own rather than focus on Earth clones. The team applied the criteria to 4,500 known exoplanets and identified 24 that came the closest to that qualifies.

WSU said: “One that is about 1.5 times Earth’s mass would be expected to retain its interior heating through radioactive decay longer and would also have a stronger gravity to retain an atmosphere over a longer time period.”

None ticked all of the boxes but they do hint at the possibilities for life-friendly worlds beyond our own.

EXOPLANETS ARE OVER 100 LIGHT YEARS AWAY

There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to these potential paradises.

An even bigger issue is the candidates are all over 100 light years away, too far to ever reach.

“Habitability does not mean these planets definitely have life, merely the conditions that would be conducive to life,” WSU said.

FOCUS IS ON PLANETS WITH THE MOST PROMISING CONDITIONS

Schulze-Makuch said, “What’s useful here is the criteria for planets that may not look exactly like Earth, but could be even more awesome locations for life. This could help us direct the resources of next-generation space telescopes like NASA’s much-delayed James Webb. We have to focus on certain planets that have the most promising conditions for complex life. However, we have to be careful to not get stuck looking for a second Earth because there could be planets that might be more suitable for life than ours.”