Habitable moons around extrasolar giant planets

Possible planetary objects have now been discovered orbiting nine different main-sequence stars. These companion objects (some of which might actually be brown dwarfs) all have a mass at least half that of Jupiter, and are therefore unlikely to be hospitable to Earth-like life: jovian planets and br...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1997-01, Vol.385 (6613), p.234-236
Main Authors: Williams, D. M., Kasting, J. F., Wade, R. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Atmosphere
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Exobiology
Extrasolar planetary systems
Extraterrestrial Environment
Extraterrestrial life
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Magnetic fields
Moon
multidisciplinary
Planets
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Space life sciences
Stars
Stars & galaxies
Water
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Summary:Possible planetary objects have now been discovered orbiting nine different main-sequence stars. These companion objects (some of which might actually be brown dwarfs) all have a mass at least half that of Jupiter, and are therefore unlikely to be hospitable to Earth-like life: jovian planets and brown dwarfs support neither a solid nor a liquid surface near which organisms might dwell. Here we argue that rocky moons orbiting these companions could be habitable if the planet-moon system orbits the parent star within the so-called 'habitable zone', where life-supporting liquid water could be present. The companions to the stars 16 Cygni B and 47 Ursae Majoris might satisfy this criterion. Such a moon would, however, need to be large enough (>0.12 Earth masses) to retain a substantial and long-lived atmosphere, and would also need to possess a strong magnetic field in order to prevent its atmosphere from being sputtered away by the constant bombardment of energetic ions from the planet's magnetosphere.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/385234a0