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Exoplanets

Planetary Habitability Index: Conjuring life on other planets

From “Planets’ life-hosting potential ranked” (CBC News, Nov 24, 2011), we learn, Plugging in parameters such as a planet’s mass, radius, and average temperature generates a series of measures in the Earth Similarity Index, which “provides a quick screening tool with which to detect exoplanets most similar to Earth,” said Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., in a statement. He added that scientists know empirically that Earth-like conditions can support life. Amazing! How did they figure that out?!! But the researchers noted that some conditions that aren’t Earth-like — such as those found in oily lakes on Titan, a moon of Saturn — could theoretically also be conducive to life — albeit not the kind Read More ›