Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:30:29.121Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Determining habitability: which exoEarths should we search for life?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2010

J. Horner  and
B.W. Jones
J. Horner*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Science Laboratories, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
B.W. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
*
e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Within the next few years, the first Earth-mass planets will be discovered around other stars. Some of those worlds will certainly lie within the classical ‘habitable zone’ of their parent stars, and we will quickly move from knowing of no exoEarths to knowing many. For the first time, we will be in a position to carry out a detailed search for the first evidence of life beyond our Solar System. However, such observations will be hugely taxing and time consuming to perform, and it is almost certain that far more potentially habitable worlds will be known than it is possible to study. It is therefore important to catalogue and consider the various effects that make a promising planet more or less suitable for the development of life. In this work, we review the various planetary, dynamical and stellar influences that could influence the habitability of exoEarths. The various influences must be taken in concert when we attempt to decide where to focus our first detailed search for life. While there is no guarantee that any given planet will be inhabited, it is vitally important to ensure that we focus our time and effort on those planets most likely to yield a positive result.

Keywords

lifeexoplanetsplanetswatertectonicsimpactscometsasteroidsclimate
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 9 , Special Issue 4: Special issue Papers from the Astrobiology Society of Britain Conference 2010 , October 2010 , pp. 273 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews-Hanna, J.C., Zuber, M.T. & Banerdt, W.B. (2008). Nature 453, 1212–1215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Backman, D. et al. (2009). Astrophys. J. 690, 1522–1538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baraffe, I., Chabrier, G., Barman, T.S., Selsis, F., Allard, F. & Hauschildt, P.H. (2005). Astron. Astrophys. 436, L47–L51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battistuzzi, F.U., Feijao, A. & Hedges, S.B. (2004). BMC Evol. Biol. Published online 09 November 2004. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC533871/: DOI:10.1186/1471-2148-4-44.Google Scholar
Beichman, C.A., Fridlund, M., Traub, W.A., Stapelfeldt, K.R., Quirrenbach, A. & Seager, S. (2007). Protostars and Planets V, eds. Reipurth, B., Jewitt, D. & Keil, K., pp. 915–928. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 951. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007prpl.conf..915BGoogle Scholar
Benn, C.R. (2001). Earth Moon Planets 85/86, 61–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benz, W., Slattery, W.L. & Cameron, A.G.W. (1986). Icarus 66, 515–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benz, W., Slattery, W.L. & Cameron, A.G.W. (1987). Icarus 71, 30–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benz, W., Anic, A., Horner, J. & Whitby, J.A. (2007). Space Sci. Rev. 132, 189–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beust, H. (2010). EAS Publ. Ser. 41, 219–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, H.F. (1957). On the origin of self-replicating systems. In Rhythmic and Synthetic Processes in Growth, ed. Rudnick, D., pp. 155–170. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Google Scholar
Bottke, W.F, Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J., Levison, H.F., Michel, P. & Metcalfe, T.S. (2002). Icarus 156, 399–433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryden, G. et al. (2006). Astrophys. J. 636, 1098–1113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bywater, R.P. & Conde-Frieboesk, K. (2005). Astrobiology 5, 568–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, C.R. (1994). Nature 367, 33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Correia, A.C.M. & Laskar, J. (2004). Nature 429, 848–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
David, E.-M., Quintana, E.V., Fatuzzo, M. & Adams, F.C. (2003). Pub. Astron. Soc. Pacific 115, 825–836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dehant, V. et al. (2007). Space Sci. Rev. 129, 279–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desidera, S. & Barbieri, M. (2007). Astron. Astrophys. 462, 345–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
di Sisto, R.P. & Brunini, A. (2007). Icarus 190, 224–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drake, M.J. (2004). Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 39, 5031.Google Scholar
Drake, M.J. (2005). Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 40, 519–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eddy, J.A., Bandurian, P.B. & Hartmann, L.W. (1984). Lect. Notes Phys. 193, 169–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emel'yanenko, V.V., Asher, D.J. & Bailey, M.E. (2005). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 361, 1345–1351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emel'yanenko, V.V., Asher, D.J. & Bailey, M.E. (2007). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 381, 779–789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fabrycky, D. & Murray-Clay, R.A. (2010). Astrophys. J. 710, 1408–1421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feulner, G. & Rahmstorf, S. (2010). Geophys. Res. Lett. 37(5), L05707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fogg, M.J. & Nelson, R.P. (2007). Astron. Astrophys. 461, 1195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foukal, P., Fröhlich, C., Spruit, H. & Wigley, T.M.L. (2006). Nature 443, 161–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frogel, J.A. (1988). Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 26, 51–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gogarten-Boekels, M., Hilario, E. & Gogarten, J.P. (1995). Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 25, 251–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greaves, J.S. & Wyatt, M.C. (2010). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 404, 1944–1951.Google Scholar
Greaves, J.S., Wyatt, M.C., Holland, W.S. & Dent, W.R.F. (2004). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 351, L54–L58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grieve, R.A.F. & Pesonen, L.J. (1992). Tectonophysics 216, 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomes, R., Levison, H.F., Tsiganis, K. & Morbidelli, A. (2005). Nature 435, 466–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guinan, E.F., Güdel, M. & Audard, M. (2005). Astrophys. J. 622, 680–694.Google Scholar
Harvey, P.M., Wilking, B.A. & Joy, M. (1984). Nature 307, 441–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, M.J., Doyle, L.R., Joshi, M.M. & Haberle, R.M. (1999). Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 29, 405–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, M.J. & Weigert, P.A. (1999). Astron J. 117, 621–628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J., Evans, N.W. & Bailey, M.E. (2004a). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 354, 798–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J., Evans, N.W. & Bailey, M.E. (2004b). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 355, 321–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J., Evans, N.W., Bailey, M.E. & Asher, D.J. (2003). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 343, 1057–1066.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J. & Jones, B.W. (2008a). Astronomy & Geophysics 49, 1.22–1.27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J. & Jones, B.W. (2008b). Int. J. Astrobiol. 7, 251–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J. & Jones, B.W. (2009). Int. J. Astrobiol. 8, 75–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J., Jones, B.W. & Chambers, J. (2010). Int. J. Astrobiol. 9, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J. & Lykawka, P.S. (2010). Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 402, 13–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, J., Mousis, O., Petit, J.-M. & Jones, B.W. (2009). Planet. Space Sci. 57, 1338–1345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackman, C.H., MacPeters, R.D., Labow, G.J. & Fleming, E.L. (2001). Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 2883–2886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakosky, B.M., Henderson, B.G. & Mellon, M.T. (1995). J. Geophys. Res. 100, 1579–1584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janes, K. & Kim, J.-H. (2008). Proc. Int. Astron. Union 4, 548–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jewitt, D.C. & Luu, J.X. (1993). Nature 362, 730–732.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lammer, H. et al. (2009). Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 17, 181–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lathe, R. (2004). Icarus 168, 18–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lean, J. (2000). Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 2425–2428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lean, J., Beer, J. & Bradley, R. (1995). Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 3195–3198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levison, H.F. & Duncan, M.J. (1997). Icarus 127, 13–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levison, H.F., Dones, L., Chapman, C.R., Stern, S.A., Duncan, M.J. & Zahnle, K.J. (2001). Icarus 151, 286–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levison, H.F., Morbidelli, A., Vanlaerhoven, C., Gomes, R. & Tsiganis, K. (2008). Icarus 196, 258–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, D.N.C., Bodenheimer, P. & Richardson, D.C. (1996). Nature 380, 606–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe, D.R. & Tice, M.M. (2004). Geology 32, 493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundin, R., Lammer, H. & Ribas, I. (2007). Space Sci. Rev. 129, 245–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lunine, J.I. (1999). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 96, 5353–5355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marois, C., Macintosh, B., Barman, T., Zuckerman, B., Song, I., Patience, J., Lafrenière, J. & Doyon, R. (2008). Science 322, 1348–1352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, J., Horner, J. & Carter, A. (2010). Int. J. Astrobiol. submitted.Google Scholar
Masset, F.S. & Papaloizou, J.C.B. (2003). Astrophys. J. 588, 494–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, B.C. et al. (2010). Astron. Astrophys. 518, L135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayor, M. & Queloz, D. (1995). Nature 378, 355–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mezger, P.G., Duschl, W.J. & Zylka, R. (1996). Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 7, 289–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morbidelli, A., Petit, J.-M., Gladman, B. & Chambers, J. (2001). Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 36, 371–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morbidelli, A., Chambers, J., Lunine, J.I., Petit, J.M., Robert, F., Valsecchi, G.B. & Cyr, K.E. (2000). Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 35, 1309–1320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morbidelli, A., Bottke, W.F., Froeschlé, Ch. & Michel, P. (2002). Origin and Evolution of Near-Earth Objects. Asteroids III, pp. 409–422. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.Google Scholar
Morbidelli, A. & Vokrouhlick&, D. (2003). Icarus 163, 120–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newkirk, G. Jr. (1980). Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta Suppl. 13, 293–301.Google Scholar
Nimmo, F. & McKenzie, D. (1998). Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 26, 23–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nimmo, F. (2002). Geology 30, 987–990.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oberbeck, V.R. & Fogleman, G. (1989). Nature 339, 434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oberbeck, V.R., Quaide, W.L., Arvidson, R.E. & Aggarwal, H.R. (1977). J. Geophys. Res. 82, 1681–1698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Neill, C., Jellinek, A.M. & Lenardic, A. (2007). Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 261, 20–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oort, J.H. (1950). Bull. Astron. Inst. Neth. 11, 91–100.Google Scholar
Owen, T. & Bar-Nun, A. (1995). Icarus 116, 215–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paddack, S.J. (1969). J. Geophys. Res., 74, 4379–4381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petit, J.-M., Morbidelli, A. & Chambers, J. (2001). Icarus 153, 338–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfahl, E. & Muterspaugh, M. (2006). Astrophys. J. 652, 1694–1697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quintana, E.V. & Lissauer, J.J. (2006). Icarus 185, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quintana, E.V., Adams, F.C., Lissauer, J.J. & Chambers, J.E. (2007). Astrophys. J. 660, 807–822.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rind, D. (2002). Science 296, 673–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, C.T., Elphic, R.C. & Slavin, J.A. (1979). Science 205, 114–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scalo, J. et al. (2007). Astrobiology 7, 85–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sing, D.K., Lecavelier, A., Désert, J.-M., Vidal-Madjar, A. & Ballester, G. (2009). Proc. Int. Astron. Union 4, 532–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slattery, W.L., Benz, W. & Cameron, A.G.W. (1992). Icarus 99, 167–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sofia, S. & Li, L.H. (2001). J. Geophys. Res. 106, 12 969–12 974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stern, S.A., Weaver, H.A., Steffl, A.J., Mutchler, M.J., Merline, W.J., Buie, M.W., Young, E.F., Young, L.A. & Spencer, J.R. (2006). Nature 439, 946–948.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, D.J. (2003). Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 208, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Street, R.A. et al. (2003). Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 340, 1287–1297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, K.Y.L. (2009). Astrophys. J. 705, 314–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiscareno, M.S. & Malhotra, R. (2003). Astrophys. J. 126, 3122–3131.Google Scholar
Vokrouhlick&, D. & Čapek, D. (2002). Icarus 159, 449–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Volk, K. & Malhotra, R. (2008). Astrophys. J. 687, 714–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, J.M. & Hobbs, P.V. (2006). Atmospheric Science – an Introductory Survey, 2nd edn, (a) section 7.2.1 (b) sections 2.3.3 and 2.3.4. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Waltham, D. (2006). Int. J. Astrobiol. 5, 327–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waltham, D. (2010). Astrobiology submitted.Google Scholar
Ward, P.D. & Brownlee, D. (2000). Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldrake, D.T.F., Sackett, P.D., Bridges, T.J. & Freeman, K.C. (2005). Astrophys. J. 620, 1043–1051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, L.E., Armstrong, J.C. & Gonzalez, G. (2003). Icarus 162, 38–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wetherill, G.W. (1975). Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf. 6th 2, 1539–1561.Google Scholar
Wilner, D.J., Holman, M.J., Kuchner, M.J. & Ho, P.T.P. (2002). Astrophys. J. 569, L115–L119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B.E., Muller, H.-R., Zank, G. & Linskey, J.L. (2002). Astrophys. J. 574, 412–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B.E. et al. (2005). Astrophys. J. 628, L142–L146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyatt, S.P. & Whipple, F.L. (1950). Astrophys. J. 111, 134–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyse, R.F.G., Gilmore, G. & Franx, M. (1997). Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 35, 637–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar