Oblong Orbit Planets Could Be Habitable

More and more scientists seem to be embracing the idea according to which extrasolar planets (planets from outside our solar system) with an oval orbit would provide enough heat in order to spark or sustain life on their surface. These planets would still have to be inside the “habitable zone” around their stars, which provides a temperature not too far from that which allows life to prosper, as well as have liquid water content.

 

During its orbital cycle, the planet reaches zones closer to its star, the gravity of which causes its interior layers to stretch, giving the planet an elongated form, rather than a spherical one. On the other hand, when the planet reaches the orbital sections farther away from the star, the stretch reverses, and the round form is re-established. When the orbit is more oblong than usual, this process is more obvious and the stretching is greater, so the planet's inner section becomes heated, like when bending a thin metal object repeatedly.

 

A recent computer simulation based on this fact indicated that the boundaries of the habitable range in a planetary system could thus be broader than previously anticipated, since the tidal heating, as the process is called, could provide enough heat on a planet in order to support life. Contrarily, the planets thought to be warm enough in this respect, are now considered too warm, since the tidal heating adds to the normal temperature. Nevertheless, as odd as may seem, the elongated orbit is apparently the most common type found in planets of the outer space, not the circular one, of which many instances are found in our solar system.

 

According to the experts, the warming from the tidal heating process could also give way for volcanoes to emerge, while these could cause plate tectonics, the motions that would stir the surface rock layers of the planet in question. This would allow for the rocks to absorb the atmospheric carbon dioxide, thus providing a perfect temperature for life purposes. This research will boost the hopes that fuel the search for alien life and for habitable planets in the vast darkness of the outer space.