Besides Earth, what are the most habitable planets? Well, in the last article, we discussed that as of April 2022, NASA believed Kepler-452B to be the most likely candidate to be habitable to life. We will cover some of the other planets in contention for this as well.
Earth Similarity Index
The ESI is a calculation based on a formula using a planet’s radius, escape velocity, density, and surface temperature to estimate its similarity to Earth. If a planet’s ESI is equal to or greater than 0.8, it is then categorized as Earth-like.
The Conservative Sample of possibly habitable planets or exoplanets found through the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC) consists of 22 of the most likely planets to be habitable according to the ESI compared to the Optimistic Sample of 39 possibly habitable worlds.
Conservative Sample
The Conservative Sample list contains Exoplanets that are more likely to be terrestrial with a rocky surface resembling the surface of Earth. The Exoplanets on this list are also more likely to contain liquid water on the surface. This list includes the following…
Optimistic Sample
The Optimistic Sampling is less likely to have a rocky exterior or liquid surface water. This list is as follows…
Conservative Sample In Depth
In the next few articles, I will further investigate the 22 Exoplanets listed in the Conservative Sample list. Some of the items that we will cover are the specifics of what would determine that a specific planet be included here.
The Wrap Up
In conclusion, I have broadly covered 61 Exoplanets with at least some possibility of being habitable by human life. Over the next articles, we will get deeper into the 22 most likely candidates among these. I am excited to see what is next. Are you?
I hope to see you again next time as we continue to explore more Habitable Exoplanets.
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References
Planetary Habitability Laboratory. (2022, December 4). The Habitable Exoplanet Catalog. Retrieved from The Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL): https://phl.upr.edu/phl-website-content-license