Astronomers at the University of California, Irvine recently published a study in which they hypothesized that aliens may be hiding in specialized “terminator zones” on far-off exoplanets where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold.
Many exoplanets outside of our solar system are tidally locked, which means that one side is constantly facing the star they circle and the other side is always in the dark.
The researchers discovered in their research that there is a belt around these planets where there is a chance that they may be harboring liquid water, the primary component of life.
The terminator, which serves as a dividing line between the day and night sides of the exoplanet, is what gives this band its name.
The water is likely to remain frozen on the chilly night side and is likely to evaporate owing to heat on the sunny dayside, according to the experts.
“The dayside can be scorching hot, well beyond habitability, and the night side is going to be freezing, potentially covered in ice. You could have large glaciers at the night side. You want a planet that’s in the sweet spot of just the right temperature for having liquid water,” said lead author, Dr. Ana Lobo said.
“We are trying to draw attention to more water-limited planets, which despite not having widespread oceans, could have lakes or other smaller bodies of liquid water, and these climates could actually be very promising,” she added.
Understanding the several types of terminator zones that can keep liquid water on the planet was one of the major discoveries
Understanding the several types of terminator zones that can keep liquid water on the planet was one of the major discoveries, according to Lobo. The scientists learned that the water facing the star will most likely evaporate and cover the entire planet in a dense blanket of vapor if water primarily covers the earth. But, if there is land, this effect shouldn’t happen. (www.vidaliaonion.org)
“Ana has shown if there’s a lot of land on the planet, the scenario we call ‘terminator habitability’ can exist a lot more easily,” said Aomawa Shields, UCI associate professor of physics & astronomy.
“These new and exotic habitability states our team is uncovering are no longer the stuff of science fiction — Ana has done the work to show that such states can be climatically stable,” Shields added.
Because there is a chance that biosignatures produced by life are present in a small portion of the planet’s atmosphere, astronomers must modify the way exoplanet climates are studied in order to find signs of life. This is because terminator zones have been identified as potential atmospheres for harboring life.