Other planets in the solar system also move in similar circular motions, but planets in other stars sometimes have significantly extended orbits.
Now scientists have found that planets in elliptical orbits may be more suitable for life than analogous planets in circular orbits.
They modeled the climate on two planets that are very similar to Earth and orbit stars that are very similar to the Sun.
The distribution of land and water on both planets is taken to be the same as ours. One planet is placed in a circular orbit, the other’s maximum and minimum distances from the star differ by almost two and a half times. The axes of rotation of both planets are chosen to be parallel to the axis of the orbit, and both planets receive the same amount of energy from the star during their year.
The climate of each planet has been calculated for 30 years and the average properties at various locations on the surface have been examined.
A circular planet had an average temperature a couple of degrees lower than an elliptical planet, mostly because the latter was less cloudy.
In addition, the structure of the atmosphere of the second planet changed from three cells in each hemisphere to two – which means that the moisture is more evenly distributed in it.
The second planet’s habitability, based on temperature and precipitation, was nearly a quarter higher at about four-fifths of the orbit.
Averaging over the entire orbit, the elliptical planet was still 7 percent viable. higher than the county ones.
So it may make more sense to select such planets for detailed observations to see if the conditions are really suitable for life.
The results of the study are published in the magazine “MNRAS”.
2024-08-22 15:18:26