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Carl Sagan Institute study identified 45 rocky planets in habitable zones with potential to support life. Among them is Proxima Centauri b, just 4.2 light-years from Earth. The research uses the Solar System as a reference and should guide future missions of the James Webb telescope.
Researchers from the Carl Sagan Institute, affiliated with Cornell University in the United States, identified 45 rocky planets located in habitable zones with high potential to support life. The study was published in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and used Earth as the main parameter to select worlds that receive stellar energy at levels compatible with the presence of liquid water on the surface.
Among the 45 cataloged planets, the highlight is Proxima Centauri b, located just 4.2 light-years away, making it the closest neighbor to Earth with potential to support life. The survey also includes four planets from the TRAPPIST-1 system, located about 40 light-years away, and is expected to serve as a guide for future space exploration missions with the James Webb telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2027.
How astronomers selected the 45 planets with potential for life
The research was conducted by Abigail Bohl from the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University, and Gillis Lowry, a graduate in Astronomy from the same institution. The methodology started from a straightforward principle: use the Solar System as a reference.
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The researchers know that Earth is habitable, while Venus and Mars are not, and used this range of stellar energy as a filter to select candidate planets.
The scientific community has already cataloged more than six thousand exoplanets, but only a fraction exhibit characteristics compatible with the biology we know.
The 45 planets identified in the study are all rocky, are in habitable zones of their stars, and receive radiation levels between those of Venus and Mars, which theoretically allows for the existence of liquid water on the surface, a condition considered essential for life.
Proxima Centauri b: the closest among the planets with potential for life
image: NASA
Among the 45 cataloged planets, Proxima Centauri b stands out as the closest neighbor to Earth with potential to support life. Located about 4.2 light-years away, it orbits the star Proxima Centauri, the closest to the Solar System, in the constellation Centaurus.
The relative proximity of Proxima Centauri b makes it one of the priority targets for future observations with next-generation telescopes.
Still, 4.2 light-years represents an insurmountable distance with current technology: even traveling at the speed of light, the journey would take more than four years. For astrophysics, however, the importance lies in the possibility of studying the atmosphere of this planet remotely, searching for chemical signals that indicate conditions compatible with life.
The planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system on the list of 45
image: NASA
Four planets from the TRAPPIST-1 system are included in the list of 45 rocky worlds with potential to support life: TRAPPIST-1 d, e, f, and g. Located about 40 light-years from Earth, these planets orbit a red dwarf star and are in zones that theoretically allow for the existence of liquid water.
The TRAPPIST-1 system is one of the most studied by contemporary astronomy precisely because it contains multiple rocky planets in potentially habitable conditions.
The inclusion of four of these planets in the Cornell University catalog reinforces scientific interest in the region and should direct future observations of the James Webb telescope, which has already been analyzing the atmospheric composition of some of these worlds.
What makes these planets candidates to support life
The criteria used by researchers to select the 45 planets go beyond simple location in a habitable zone. The study evaluates the rocky composition, distance from the host star, amount of energy received, and even the orbital characteristics of each world.
Planets with very elliptical orbits, for example, may experience extreme temperature variations that hinder stable conditions for life.
The presence of liquid water is the central criterion. Earth is the only planet we know where liquid water exists abundantly on the surface, and replicating this condition on other worlds is what scientists seek when mapping the most promising planets.
The study establishes more rigorous screening criteria than previous surveys, refining the list of candidates for future observations.
How the study will guide future space exploration missions
For Gillis Lowry, co-author of the study, mapping the 45 planets is a fundamental step to optimize future space exploration missions. The data should serve as a guide for operations of the James Webb telescope, already in operation, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2027.
The James Webb is already capable of analyzing the atmospheric composition of transiting exoplanets, identifying molecules such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane.
With the list of the 45 most promising planets in hand, astronomers can direct telescope observation time to targets with the highest probability of showing signs of habitability, avoiding the dispersion of resources on thousands of less promising candidates.
What this discovery means for the search for life beyond Earth
The identification of 45 rocky planets in habitable zones does not mean that life has been found on any of them. What the study does is establish a rigorous catalog of candidates that deserve further investigation, based on criteria that use the only example of a inhabited planet we know: Earth itself.
Although interstellar distance remains an insurmountable obstacle for crewed travel, remote observation technology is advancing rapidly.
The list of 45 planets represents a milestone for contemporary astrophysics because it concentrates the search efforts on concrete targets, transforming the question of whether we are alone in the universe into an increasingly verifiable scientific inquiry.
Astronomers from Cornell University identified 45 rocky planets with potential to support life, including Proxima Centauri b, the closest neighbor to Earth at 4.2 light-years.
The study is expected to guide the next observations of the James Webb telescope and mark a new chapter in the search for life beyond our planet.
With information from the portal revistaplaneta.
Do you believe we will find signs of life on any of these 45 planets in the coming decades? Which one intrigues you the most? Leave your opinion in the comments and share with those who are fascinated by astronomy and space exploration.
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