Preamble:
Earth is the only planet we have been familiar with since the dawn of time, and our life on this planet is endless, but we know very little about planets other than Earth. Since the development of science and technology, we have learned that the earth is not the only planet in the universe where life exists. Over the past few decades, scientists have been searching the universe for other planets that may have life through various means and methods, among which the discovery of the Kepler space telescope is particularly eye-catching.
1. NASA discovered the Earth's large and small planets
Recently, NASA accidentally discovered a planet the size of the Earth called Kepler 1649c while sorting out early data from the Kepler Space Telescope. This planet is 300 light-years away from Earth, so it can be said that it is very far away from us.
2. Characteristics of Kepler 1649c
Despite the fact that Kepler 1649c is quite far from Earth, scientists are very interested in its characteristics. First of all, Kepler-1649c is located in a very special location, it is located in the habitable zone of the star, and the distance from the Earth is also very suitable, which means that it has a high probability of liquid water, which is one of the basic conditions for the existence of life. Second, Kepler-1649c's mass is very close to Earth, only 0.06 times more mass than Earth, and the amount of light it receives from stars is close to 75% of Earth's, all of which provide strong support for its habitability.
3. The impact of red dwarfs on planetary life
However, despite the fact that Kepler 1649c has many similarities with Earth, scientists have not yet been able to determine whether it is suitable for life. Because Kepler-1649c's star is a red dwarf, red dwarfs produce flares from time to time, and these flares may have irreversible effects on the planets orbiting it, thus affecting the existence of life on the planets.
Fourth, the positive effects of red dwarfs
Scientists have been holding two different views on the impact of red dwarfs. One view is that a flare of a red dwarf star can have a catastrophic effect on the planets orbiting it, making them unhabitable. On the other hand, red dwarfs may have a positive impact on the generation and existence of life on planets. Although red dwarf flares do have some effect on planets, their low temperature and long lifespan can provide more opportunities for planetary life to arise and exist, which also means that we do not need to completely rule out the habitability of planets around red dwarfs, which is very important for us to find extraterrestrial life.
5. The significance of Kepler's discovery of 1649c
The discovery of Kepler 1649c is undoubtedly a great inspiration for our human beings, before that, scientists have always believed that planets other than Earth are either gas giants or rocky planets, and planets of Kepler's size are very rare, which also provides us with a new direction and possibility for the search for extraterrestrial life.
6. Limitations of planetary exploration methods
In the process of finding extraterrestrial life, we are inseparable from a variety of planetary detection methods, such as planetary transit and stellar oscillation, it is through these two methods that scientists can find distant planets such as Kepler 1649c, but these two methods are not perfect, they have their own limitations, such as planetary transit can only detect planets that are in a plane with us, and stellar oscillation can only detect planets that have a certain traction on the star, which means that the planets detected by these two methods are only the tip of the iceberg, and there may be many other types of planets that have not been discovered by us。
7. Future planetary exploration
Therefore, in the future planetary exploration work, scientists need to continue to develop and improve various detection methods and technologies, such as direct imaging technology and circumstellar disk observation technology, only in this way can we find more planets that are similar to the Earth and may even have life.
Epilogue:
The exploration of extraterrestrial life is full of unknowns and challenges, but it is precisely this unknown and challenge that makes us full of infinite curiosity and enthusiasm for exploration of the universe, and I believe that in the near future, we will definitely find the existence of other life in more distant galaxies, and at that time, the meaning of human life and the universe will also be reinterpreted.