Africa-Press – Namibia. The ability of a body to reflect starlight was once the method to ascertain an exoplanet’s habitability, but new research has come up with a new detection method based focusing on atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham, UK, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, have developed a technique for identifying potentially habitable planets by analyzing their carbon dioxide (CO2) levels.
A planet’s habitability is defined by its capacity to obtain and hold water on its outer layer. Planets too near or remote from their suns are excluded from the “habitable zone.”
While the degree to which a planet reflects starlight was once the primary measure of a planet’s habitability, a recent revelation shifts the focus to CO2 concentrations, which indicate the presence of water and raising prospects for life. The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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