Cornell University | 2020 Apr 30
The next generation of powerful Earth- and space-based telescopes will be able to hunt distant solar systems for evidence of life on Earth-like exoplanets – particularly those that chaperone burned-out stars known as white dwarfs.
The chemical properties of those far-off worlds could indicate that life exists there. To help future scientists make sense of what their telescopes are showing them, Cornell astronomers have developed a spectral field guide for these rocky worlds.
“We show what the spectral fingerprints could be and what forthcoming space-based and large terrestrial telescopes can look out for,” said Thea Kozakis ...
Kozakis, Kaltenegger and Zifan Lin ’20 assembled the spectral models for different atmospheres at different temperatures to create a template for possible biosignatures.
Chasing down these planets in the habitable zone of white dwarf systems is challenging, the researchers said.
“We wanted to know if light from a white dwarf – a long-dead star – would allow us to spot life in a planet’s atmosphere if it were there,” Kaltenegger said. ...
High-Resolution Spectra and Biosignatures of Earth-like Planets
Transiting White Dwarfs ~ Thea Kozakis, Zifan Lin, Lisa Kaltenegger
- Astrophysical Journal Letters 894(1):L6 (2020 May 01) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab6f6a
- arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:2001.00049 > 31 Dec 2019 (v1), 17 Jan 2020 (v3)