The Earth has been generous enough
to let life flourished on its land for almost 4 billion years. It has been
making it possible for us to live this life
that we have been enjoying. But everything at some point reaches its own limit. The modern times of today has got everyone
wondering until when can earth sustain life? It is a given fact that as time
goes by, the earth has indeed slowly showing some signs of its limit. This is
why until now, there have been numerous researches that are being done to find
an alternative suitable and habitable home
for us.
In
a recent article by Jeff Hecht (2014), he has stated that there exists a
neighbor habitable planet in which we could potentially live in. The planet reportedly
has a star orbiting around it which is close to the sun and is called as the Alpha
Centauri B. Hecht (2014) mentioned that this potential planet with the help of
the Alpha Centauri B can potentially have seas and slopes and could provide conditions
needed to be able to support a wide array of life forms which could last for up
to 10 billion years. Although this may sound as good news for many, still not
all conditions that is existent on earth could be similar to that of other potential
planets. It was mentioned as well in the article that the pull of gravity on
this planet would be about one-quarter stronger than that of the Earth.
René Heller (2014)
as stated by Hecht (2014) who is from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada together with his colleagues continued to analyze the possibilities of
finding potential planets with criteria’s such as its hypothetical gravity, age
and internal structure. They found out that indeed, the most suitable place for
life is a planet bigger than Earth orbiting an orange star that is smaller than
the sun. Still in all of this, the issue of gravity and its implications on
life remains a big question. In all of this, the Earth can be seen still as the
most suitable place for us humans, as well as other life forms to live in. Even
though there are potential planets, known and unknown that can serve as an
alternative home for us in the future, still problems are seen with each of
them. Only time can only tell until when the Earth can sustain carrying the weight
of life. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t give up on us soon – or we’re doomed!
References:
Hecht, J. (2014). Star next door may host a 'superhabitable'
word. In NewScientist. Retrieved
February 1, 2014, from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24980-star-next-door-may-host-a-superhabitable-world.html#.Uu8PUz1dVv8
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