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Life on distant moons
20 Mar 2023
Free-floating planets do not orbit a sun. Their moons may still have liquid water, and thus the basis for the emergence of life. Munich-based researchers have now determined the necessary properties.
For the emergence of life on Earth, liquid water is a crucial component. Since only one planet is known so far to have given rise to life, the scientists assume that also elsewhere the presence of liquid water plays a pivotal role in the chemical evolution that can lead to the emergence of life. In and outside our solar system, the habitable zone defines an annular region around the central star in which planets are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water.