1/9/2016

There is possibility of earth-like planets - TELANGANA - The Hindu

TODAY'S PAPER TELANGANA

Published: January 9, 2016 00:00 IST | Updated: January 9, 2016 05:35 IST
HYDERABAD, January 9, 2016

There is possibility of earth-like planets

Staff Reporter
Suggesting a seemingly unlikely cosmic backyard for life, an Indian-American scientist pair has hinted at the possibility of finding Earth-like
planets in ancient star clusters.
Called Globular Clusters, these groups of ancient stars exist in galactic fringes. Our parent galaxy Milky Way is said to have around 150
clusters. Millions of stars can exist in a cluster that spans just 900 trillion kilometres, which on astronomical scale is small; stars separated by
just about 9 billion kilometres, the width of our solar system.
For comparison, Suns nearest star neighbours Alpha Centauri A and B, are located more than 24 trillion km away! Our solar system is located
in a sparsely populated region of Milky Way.
The jostling for galactic space not withstanding, Dr. Alak K. Ray of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai and Dr.
Rosanne Di Stefano of Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics have argued that properties of globular clusters that make them seem
prohibitive to life, could in fact favour its existence.
Our simulations show that habitable zones, which remain sustainable on a long term, may exist in globular clusters. Planets in such clusters
may huddle close to their parent stars which are relatively smaller compared to the Sun. This close huddling could render planets safe from
interstellar disturbances that clusters are known for, Dr. Ray told The Hindu .
His colleague Dr. Di Stefano, who presented their work at the 227{+t}{+h}meeting of American Astronomical Society on Wednesday, said that
clusters might be the first place in Milky Way where intelligent species could be found.
Past search efforts in clusters have yielded just one planet orbiting a double star system. Soon enough, scientists struck clusters off as possible
homes for life while citing aging stars, poor in essential metals required for planetary formation.
Dr. Ray pointed out that formation of Earth-like planets does not mandate a metal-rich star like Sun; several planets have been found outside
our solar system orbiting stars that are chemically poor compared to the Sun.
Besides, the exciting prospect of finding life, the work also outlines perks of living among the stars. For one, interstellar travel could be easy
and any intelligent life in such clusters could quickly go space-hopping!
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There is possibility of earth-like planets - TELANGANA - The Hindu

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