Intelligent Reasoning


Friday, June 23, 2017

How to Find Another Habitable Planet

Stephen Hawking says we need to get off of this planet before we completely ruin it and are wiped out because of that. I think we a long, long way away from that day but it is good to be prepared. So how do we find another habitable planet?

 Read "The Privileged Planet" as all of what is required is in it. For example we need to look for the right kind of star- yes it must be very similar to our own Sun. Red dwarves are too small, too dim and to be in its habitable zone means the planet would be so close it would be tidally locked, ie rotation = revolution (like our Moon). And that means no protective magnetic field. Red dwarves are out for a habitable planet for humans, anyway.

OK so we start by finding the right type of star. Then we need to see where those stars are. Too close to the center of the galaxy and we run the risk of too much radiation and too many other celestial objects moving about that can wreak havoc on that system.

Then there must be terrestrial planets or moons in that star's habitable zone that we can terraform. Obviously we need water and oxygen, for starters. The place we pick needs to have a magnetic field to protect us from the host star's radiation, which means it has to have a molten iron core and rotation to produce it. And that rotation needs to be stable or else we need to be prepared for climate change the likes we have never seen before- think about the earth tilting such that one of the poles is facing the Sun.

The point being is it isn't enough to find any terrestrial planet.

Factors required to sustain complex life


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