The Milky Way Hosts Over 10 Billion Potentially Habitable Planets—Yet They Were Overlooked for a Flawed Reason

Are we alone in the universe or, at least, in the solar system or the Milky Way? This is the big question that pushes us to look at the borders of space. Until the contrary, the answer is yes, we are alone. But recent works have highlighted the fact that our prejudices in astrophysics pushed us to ignore a whole part of the potential planets on which life could have developed. And that has to do with one of the most important elements of a planetary system: its star.

But this is indeed, the surprising result of a study published in the review The Astrophysical Journal A little earlier in the year. Indeed, a dead star, a white dwarf, could be able to house a planetary system in which life could be established.

And this is where prejudices come into account and they pushed us to ignore a whole population of stars and planets. Indeed, based on our knowledge, so that life develops on a planet it is necessary to meet certain conditions including one considered as essential: that which the star in the center of the planetary system is “alive”. So that it gives off heat and that it presents a nuclear activity in its heart.

Our star, the sun, for example, is a living star since it gives off heat and its heart operates the nuclear fusion necessary for its functioning.

And it is typically this characteristic that prompted researchers to give little attention to dead stars, white dwarfs, in the search for potential planets that could shelter life. Since if they continue to emit heat, nuclear fusion is indeed over.

“” “Our computer simulations suggest that if rocky planets exist on their orbit, their surface could be more habitable than we thought before“Explained Aomawa Shields, professor at the University of California in Irvine (USA), in remarks reported by theUS National Science Foundation.

More than 10 billion candidate planets

Why this figure? Well, it was the one who was given by the researchers who studied. Indeed, there would be around 10 billion white dwarfs in the Milky Way. If it is estimated that each of these stars has at least a planet orbiting around it, we have a sacred pack of potential candidates here to welcome life.

And when we know that finishing in white dwarf is the destiny of 97% of almost 150 billion stars present in our galaxy, we have before us a beautiful sample to analyze to see if life has been able to develop or one or more planets outside ours.

Thanks to the different simulations made thanks to computers, the field of possibilities for astrophysicists and astrobiologists has become even more important than before.

“” “These results suggest that the stellar environment of white dwarfs, formerly considered inhospitable for life, could offer new possibilities to researchers in exoplanets and astrobiology“Explained Aomawa Shields.

Again, our prejudices on the functioning of the universe and that of the development of life have just taken a hit. Now remains to skim the 10 billion white dwarfs that can be found in the Milky Way, as well as their surviving planets to try to find the one on which life could have settled.

Yes, it's like looking for a needle in a hay boot. Except that the boot has become even greater.

Source : US National Science Foundation