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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.05115 |
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| _version_ | 1866915542748626944 |
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| author | van der Tak, Floris |
| author_facet | van der Tak, Floris |
| contents | As of 2025, over 6000 planets are known to orbit stars other than our Sun. We can measure their sizes and orbital periods, infer their masses and temperatures, and constrain their compositions. Based on these data, about 1% of extrasolar planets are potentially habitable for life as we know it, implying that of the billions of planets in our Galaxy, some may actually be inhabited, at least by microbes. However, recognizing signs of alien life forms is a major challenge for current technology, because of the wide range of conditions on extrasolar planets, and because of the wide range of forms that life may take. This chapter reviews observations of exoplanets and discusses astrobiological definitions of habitability and the likelihood of finding life beyond the Earth, both within and outside the Solar system. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_05115 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Likelihood and appearance of life beyond the Earth: An astronomical perspective van der Tak, Floris Astrophysics of Galaxies As of 2025, over 6000 planets are known to orbit stars other than our Sun. We can measure their sizes and orbital periods, infer their masses and temperatures, and constrain their compositions. Based on these data, about 1% of extrasolar planets are potentially habitable for life as we know it, implying that of the billions of planets in our Galaxy, some may actually be inhabited, at least by microbes. However, recognizing signs of alien life forms is a major challenge for current technology, because of the wide range of conditions on extrasolar planets, and because of the wide range of forms that life may take. This chapter reviews observations of exoplanets and discusses astrobiological definitions of habitability and the likelihood of finding life beyond the Earth, both within and outside the Solar system. |
| title | Likelihood and appearance of life beyond the Earth: An astronomical perspective |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.05115 |