Dorie Chang AS 105 TF: Philip Phipps Section B3

Homework #7: Question 1

When designing a mission to search for habitable worlds and potential life, I would take several factors into account. The universe is so vast, and money to fund such a project would be limited; thus, it is necessary to pinpoint specific locations and look for certain indicators for a promising world. Based on everything Ive learned in Alien Worlds, I would search first around M dwarf stars for any potential planets and then further narrow my search of a habitable exoplanet by looking several of its characteristics. In selecting where to initially start my quest, I would first start by weeding out which stars to look around. For habitable worlds, M dwarf stars are most likely the best option. This is because M dwarfs are smaller in size, which is good for a couple of reasons. M dwarfs small size tells us that they are able to live up to billions of years which is more than enough time for planets to form. Additionally, it is known that smaller planets are more common around small stars. Oppositely, although O stars have more metallicity, they have very short lifespans and will die after only a few million years, which would be too short of a time for planets to completely form. O stars are also much younger stars, meaning that they are more active. Thus, younger stars give off more stellar flares which can be detrimental to a planets atmosphere. Not only are M dwarfs a good choice to search around because of their older age and lifespan, but also because they are the most common type of star and populate about 70% of all stars. This shows promise of finding an exoplanet because generally 70% of all stars have at least one planet, making the statistics in favor of possibly finding life around an M dwarf star. Unlike O stars, M dwarfs also have very strong magnetic fields, which are necessary for habitable worlds. M

dwarfs are clearly the best choice to search around, but I would also narrow down my star selection within all the M dwarfs in the galaxy based on their varied activity levels. For this mission, I would look more at the hotter M dwarfs because they would only stay active for about 1-2 billion years as compared to colder M dwarfs that could stay active for 6-7 billion years. This is important to account for because since M dwarfs have such a long lifespan, they can thus remain active for a much longer time, which would be bad for planets. As a result, habitable planets would be more likely to form by hotter M dwarfs because of their shorter activity span whereas longer activity would fry the planet. After finding a star that has formed a solar system like our own, I would then carefully choose which planet seems habitable to further observe for potential life. First, I would take note of the planets distance from the star. This is important because each solar system has its own frost line and habitable zone, which is dependent on the stars temperature. By observing all the planets distance to the star, I could then eliminate the ones past the frost line as well as concentrate particularly on those in the habitable zone where liquid water is able to form. I would also look to see if it is a terrestrial world that we are able to stand on. The planet would also have to be geologically active and be differentiated with an MOI of less than .4. Additionally, it would need a magnetic field to ensure that it is properly rotating and orbiting the star. It is important that the planet is not tidally locked, meaning that it does not rotate and has the same side facing the star. This would be bad because the same side would have constant exposure to the heat of the star and would get fried while the other side of the planet would never see the star. Not only is it necessary for the planet to be rotating, but it is also important to see if it has a good orbit around its star and does not go too close or far from the star at different points of its period. A consistent orbit would prevent the planet from shifting temperature conditions on

the planet and create a more stable living environment. I would also check to see if the planet has an atmosphere and see if it has a high enough escape velocity to hold onto oxygen. This would likely be a key indicator of potential life on the planet along with identifying if the planet had amino acids or other important chemicals/elements. Overall, I would plan my mission accordingly to pick out an M dwarf star that has formed planets. M dwarf stars are the best options to begin looking around because of their lower mass and smaller size as well as their longer lifespan. These stars are the most capable of forming planets and thus, would be where I would begin my mission. After focusing more on the planets in a solar system, I could then identify which could be habitable by looking at several factors such as: geologic activity, velocity escape speed, differentiation, and distance from the star. Thus, I would strategically plan my mission around all of these factors in order to find a habitable world.