Habitable earth-like planets: Is it important only to care about water availability?

With the growing number of human population, today many scientists argue that we must prepare our next home. Astronomers have been discovering many Earth-like planets in order to preserve our next destination. However, the findings are firstly on the water resources. Does it really matter about the water availability?

Earth-like planet must be discovered with the stable climate condition
(image is credited to www.nasa.gov)

Since the population of human has been growing in this millennia, overcrowding has been attacking the society. On the other hand, the increasing numbers of people also increases the use of vehicles which directly influences the production of carbon dioxide. This leads to the greenhouse effect which prevents the heat energy radiating back outside the atmosphere. Unfortunately, unstable carbon dioxide cycle affects the earth’s temperature increasing so that can endanger the living things within it.

As the solution for the un-habitable environment caused by the heating, many people believe we must begin the journey to the universe for seeking the next home otherwise we will go to extinction in the next few centuries. Sometimes, this solution is ridiculous since the exploration takes a very long time. However, in one hand, this could be the best solution as we already have enough technology. Whether it is good or not, something is certain that we must prepare everything for future generation.

Challenges to find new earth-like planets. One thing that is to be sure about finding our new home is the supporting aspects of life dependency in the new planet. For example, the movie titled “The Martian” teaches us about the needs of growing food resources in Mars while “Interstellar” suggests us to concern many aspects including the land, air and the atmosphere itself. For some reasons, these two movies predict the new habitats for human is not merely just water.

More importantly, the challenges in finding the new Earth-like planets are begun from the discovery of the water availability. It is a common thought that water is the source of living. Therefore, spotting the water resources in certain planets become the first step for scientists particularly for astronomers, astrophysics, astrobiologists. However, the space is never ending world with cold temperature and the possibility of looking new earth-like planets is low before the finding of stars.

Therefore, the first thing is to find the new planetarium system which is similar to our solar system. The main source of heat which is obtained from the nearest stars within the system is important to maintain the temperature. For example, our Sun acts to maintain the Earth’s temperature so living things could survive and live within it. Therefore, after finding the stars itself we must understand the movements of the planet in order to recognize the surface conditions.

Generally speaking, understanding the surface condition can guarantee the surface liquid water conditions of a planet because the existence of carbon-silicate cycle operating in the atmosphere (Menou, 2015). Throughout the paper, (Menou, 2015) suggested that in order to find the habitable earth-likes planet, stable condition of climate is crucial. Although water is important to support the life however, unstable climate cycles could affect the emergence and evolution of life which means colonizing new planet is nothing more than a visiting.

Earth-likes planets

Based on paper authorized by (Hobson & Gomez, 2017) there are several multiplanetary systems following the stars that organize them and more importantly about the compactness between the system and the size. However, as we mentioned earlier before that the process of finding the earth-like planets begun with the temperature, astronomers must discover it in a very precise colour – since color describes the temperature.

To conclude, the searching of terrestrial planets is based on the temperature because it explains the condition of the planet. However, finding the habitable earth-like planets is not only based on the temperature itself but also the water quantity and stable climate in addition to continue the process of evolution.

References
[1] Hobson, M. J., & Gomez, M. (2017). Multiple planetary systems: Properties of the current sample. New Astronomy, 1-12.
[2] Menou, K. (2015). Climate stability of habitable Earth-like planets. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 20-24.