14 DAY TRIAL // According to the results of a new supercomputer simulation, it would appear that many extrasolar planets have exomoons in their orbit. In fact, more than a quarter of them might have companions.
These results come from one of the most interesting and comprehensive models of exoplanets developed to date. The discovery could also yield potential benefits for people dedicating their efforts to demonstrating that alien life exists.
The simulation however draws attention to the fact that the discovery does not extend to all exoplanet, but only to those that are part of the same class as Earth. There is also a chance that, if these planets indeed have moons, then they are only accompanied by one, such as is Earth's case.
Without the Moon, life here would have been impossible. Our planet's orbit is severely tilted, at an angle of more than 23 degrees. Once our companion formed, it stabilized the planet to such an extent that the emergence and development of increasingly complex lifeforms became possible.
The ocean tides are also a direct consequence of the influence that the Moon has on Earth. On other celestial bodies, the same positive effects could apply, priming those worlds for the emergence of life.
“Without a large moon, our Earth would spin around randomly. Maybe it’s unlikely that a planet would have a massive moon, and that makes the Earth sort of special,” says University of Zürich astronomer Ben Moore.
The expert is also a coauthor of the new study, which is detailed in the latest issue of the journal Icarus. He says that the Moon is 1 percent the mass of Earth, yet capable of maintaining a 23.3-degree tilt, that only varies by 1.3 degrees every 41,000 years or so, Wired reports.
But the Moon took a lot of work, chance and pure luck to get to its current position in its current configuration. Other Earth-like exoplanets might have not been so lucky. If that is the case, then the prospect of alien life existing elsewhere diminishes.
Speaking of the new simulation, astronomer Sean Raymond said that “this is good quality stuff. These guys know what they are doing.” The expert is based at the Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux in France, but he was not a part of the new investigation.
“Microbes might not care at all, but you’re probably not going to have elephants on planets without big moons. So the big question is, what fraction of these planets are truly Earth-like? And how Earth-like does a planet have to be to have something like us on it?” University of Washington expert Don Brownlee concludes.