The climate crisis represents an enormous challenge for all the inhabitants of the Earth. This has led many scientists to search for exoplanets, planets outside our solar system that humans could potentially colonize.
The James Webb Space Telescope was developed as part of this research to provide detailed observational data on Earth-like exoplanets in years to come. A new project, led by Dr Assaf Hochman of the Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), in collaboration with Dr Paolo De Luca of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Dr Thaddeus D. Komacek at the University of Maryland, has successfully developed a framework for studying the atmospheres of distant planets and locating planets suitable for human habitation, without having to physically visit them. Their joint research study was published in the Astrophysical Journal.
Classification of climatic conditions and measurement of climate sensitivity are central elements when assessing the viability of exoplanets as potential candidates for human habitation. In the current study, the research team examined TRAPPIST-1e, a planet about 40 light-years from Earth that is expected to be documented by the James Webb Space Telescope within the next year. The researchers looked at the sensitivity of the planet’s climate to increasing greenhouse gases and compared it to conditions on Earth. Using a computerized climate simulation on TRAPPIST-1e, they were able to assess the impact of changes in greenhouse gas concentration.
The study focused on the effect of increased carbon dioxide on extreme weather patterns and the rate of change in weather patterns on the planet. “These two variables are crucial to the existence of life on other planets, and they are now being studied in depth for the first time in history,” Hochman explained.
According to the research team, studying the climate variability of Earth-like exoplanets provides insight into the climate changes we are currently experiencing on Earth. Additionally, this type of research offers new understanding of how planet Earth’s atmosphere may change in the future.
Hochman and his research partners found that planet TRAPPIST-1e has a significantly more sensitive atmosphere than planet Earth. They believe that an increase in greenhouse gases there could lead to more extreme climate change than we would experience here on Earth, because one side of TRAPPIST-1e constantly faces its own sun, similarly. that our moon always has one side facing the Earth.
As Hochman concluded, “The research framework we have developed, together with observational data from the Webb Space Telescope, will allow scientists to effectively assess the atmospheres of many other planets without having to send a space team to visit them physically. This will help us make informed decisions in the future about which planets are good candidates for human settlement and perhaps even finding life on those planets. »
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Material provided by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.