Washington, Nov 22 (ANI): Scientists have proposed a quick method of searching life on other worlds.
Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist with the Washington State University School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and his co-authors suggest classifying exoplanets using two different indices.
The indices are - an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) for categorizing a planet's more earth-like features and a Planetary Habitability Index (PHI) for describing a variety of chemical and physical parameters that are theoretically conducive to life in more extreme, less-earthlike conditions.
According to them the search for life on other worlds is really driven by two questions.
"The first question is whether Earth-like conditions can be found on other worlds, since we know empirically that those conditions could harbour life," Schulze-Makuch said.
"The second question is whether conditions exist on exoplanets that suggest the possibility of other forms of life, whether known to us or not," he stated.
The two indices proposed by the group mark the first attempt by scientists to categorize the many exoplanets and exomoons that are expected to be discovered in the near future in accordance with their potential to harbour some form of life.
"As a practical matter, interest in exoplanets is going to focus initially on the search for terrestrial, Earth-like planets," said Schulze-Makuch.
"With that in mind, we propose an Earth Similarity Index which provides a quick screening tool with which to detect exoplanets most similar to Earth," he explained.
But the authors believe that focusing exclusively on earth-based assumptions about habitability may well be too restrictive an approach for capturing the potential variety of life forms that, at least in principle, may also exist on other worlds.
The study will be published in the December issue of the journal Astrobiology. (ANI)
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