In 10-20 years, mankind will receive an answer to the question about extraterrestrial civilizations
A couple of huge planets, flooded with water, were discovered by astronomers.
While exploring the constellation Lyra, experts discovered an unknown star system there. The total number of planets in the constellation Lyra is five, and only two of them are in the habitable zone. Experts gave them code names - Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f. It is assumed that the surface of these celestial bodies is covered with liquid water. So far, scientists do not have reliable information about the habitability of these exoplanets. But, as for the stay of people there, if we assume that - they will not feel very comfortable. The fact is that the central star of the open system is a dim orange dwarf, there is very little light on the planets, and the atmosphere is much denser than on Earth. In addition, these are not all indicators by which exoplanets prevail over our planet. In addition, one of the planets is 1.4 times larger than the Earth, and the other 1.6 times,exoplanets have much deeper seas than Earth. Scientists also admit that strong winds blow here, raising waves, almost equal to tsunamis, on the surface of the water.
Both exoplanets were immediately included in the top thirty exoplanets most similar to Earth, compiled by Puerto Rican experts.
The existence of exoplanets is very important for astronomy - after all, we are talking about planets where there are prospects for discovering life, although not necessarily in the form we are accustomed to, but still. This year, a global step forward was made in the form of the discovery of an entire system of exoplanets, similar in size to our planet. The planetary system is located in the constellation Aquarius, the rotation of exoplanets takes place around a single star called TRAPPIST-1. Scientists consider three planets out of seven especially suitable for life. Since the three planets closest to the star have too high an air temperature on the surface, and the farthest of the planets is too cold. In 14 years, this discovery was the biggest "breakthrough" for a team of Belgian scientists. Prior to this, it was generally accepted in astronomy that the TRAPPIST-1 star system includes only three exoplanets.
Nevertheless, back in July last year, scientists from the United States stated that if traces of liquid water are found on the exoplanets of this system, then after 1-2 decades it will be possible to determine the presence of life on these objects.
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TRAPPIST-1 is, by the standards of space, very close to the Sun - from a red dwarf to our star, only 40 light years. Scientists plan to continue exploring this system of stars with the Webb telescope, which will replace the Hubble Observatory next year.
In April this year, another major discovery was made. It belongs to a whole team of European scientists - astronomers from Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Sweden have discovered signs of the atmosphere in the terrestrial exoplanet, designated GJ 1132b. The calculation of the components that make up its environment is not yet available to scientists, they could only establish that the main components of the atmosphere are water and methane. Until now, the presence of an atmosphere was observed only in large objects, which are also called hot Jupiters. The mass of GJ 1132b is 1.6 times that of the Earth, and its radius is 1.4 times greater than that of the Earth.
The number of exoplanets discovered this year has exceeded three thousand. Most of them are objects of large volume, like Jupiter and even more. But scientists are pursuing the goal not only to find planets of interest to them, but to discover those on which the presence of life is potentially possible. Such promising objects are much more difficult to detect. For this, astronomers use two search methods: transit and Doppler. The first, perhaps, is more accurate - it makes it possible to find out the characteristic dimensions of the planet and obtain information regarding its atmosphere. It is based on a decrease in the luminosity of an exoplanet at the moment it passes in front of the star's disk. The Doppler shift method examines the gravity of a star, due to which it changes its speed as it rotates, and when viewed from Earth, you can see how the planet rotates slower and faster. The position of the spectral lines of the star depends on this rotation.
The Hubble telescope is not very convenient for studying the spectral features of the atmospheres of "terrestrial" exoplanets, and the reason is in its resolution. In this regard, the transition to the Webb observatory is quite justified, and great hopes are pinned on it.
Scientists have successfully studied a transiting terrestrial exoplanet located 30 light years from Earth. It was discovered just a couple of years ago and is located in the constellation Sails. Astronomers believe that this celestial body has an atmosphere, but, in any case, it is unsuitable for life, since it has an extremely high temperature on the surface. But the atmosphere of this planet turned out to be very interesting - in infrared radiation it is absolutely opaque, which may be due to the presence of methane, water or other substances. In itself, the discovery of the red dwarf's atmosphere is important enough. Due to the activity of red dwarfs and flares on their surface, the atmosphere of exoplanets can completely disappear, and even if before that they were more suitable for life, then this quality is lost.
Terrestrial exoplanets have recently been discovered in the habitable zones of red dwarfs such as Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1. Now scientists are researching the possibility of life on them.
