00:02Visit Chandra's Beautiful Universe Exoplanet Study
00:10Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton, astronomers are testing how habitable exoplanets are based on whether
00:19they receive lethal radiation from the stars they orbit.
00:23This type of research will help guide observations with the next generation of telescopes aiming to make the first images
00:29of planets like Earth.
00:31A team of researchers examined stars that are close enough to Earth that telescopes set to begin operating in the
00:37next decade or two could take images of planets in their so-called habitable zones, defined as orbits where the
00:43planets could have liquid water on their surfaces.
00:47Any images of planets will be single points of light and will not directly show surface features like clouds, continents,
00:54and oceans.
00:55However, their spectra, the amount of light at different wavelengths, will reveal information about the planet's surface composition and atmosphere.
01:04There are several other factors influencing what could make a planet suitable for life as we know it.
01:09One of those factors is the amount of harmful x-rays and ultraviolet light they receive, which can damage or
01:15even strip away the planet's atmosphere.
01:18A team of astronomers began with a list of stars that are close enough to Earth that future ground and
01:23space-based telescopes could make images of planets in their habitable zone.
01:27These future telescopes include the Habitable Worlds Observatory and ground-based extremely large telescopes.
01:35Based on x-ray observations of some of these stars, using data from Chandra and XMM-Newton, the researchers examined
01:41which stars could have hospitable conditions on orbiting planets for life to form and prosper.
01:47The team studied how bright the stars are in x-rays, how energetic the x-rays are, and how much
01:53and how quickly they change in x-ray output, for example, due to flares.
02:00Brighter and more energetic x-rays can cause more damage to the atmospheres of orbiting planets.
02:05They identified stars where the habitable zone's x-ray radiation environment is similar to or even milder than the one
02:12in which Earth evolved.
02:13Such conditions may play a key role in sustaining a rich atmosphere like the one found on Earth.
02:20Observing time on the next generation of telescopes will be precious and extremely difficult to obtain.
02:25These x-ray data are helping to refine and prioritize the list of targets and may allow the first image
02:31of a planet like the Earth to be obtained more quickly.
02:45Hasined there been ané‚ of a massive resource for the plexus, being using data from Earth to be obtained more
02:47easily?
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