Super-Earths are
perfect for life
Super-Earths, which are twice as big as
Earth and orbit red dwarf stars, have
better conditions for life than Earth,
as life can develop over billions
of years under stable conditions.RED DWARF STARS
SHINE STABLY
Red dwarf stars are half as large
or smaller than the Sun. They burn
their energy slowly, resulting in a
stable climate on their planets for
trillions of years.THE SUN DIES IN FOUR
BILLION YEARS
The Sun is a yellow star, which is
about 4.6 billion years old. In four
billion years, when it has burned
all its hydrogen, it will swell into a
red giant and die.STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD
PROTECTS AGAINST RADIATION
Super-Earths take longer to cool down
than Earth and have a rotating, liquid iron
core for a longer time. This produces a
magnetic field, which protects the planets'
life against radiation for a longer period of
time than Earth's magnetic field.
VOLCANOES STABILISE A
CHANGING CLIMATE
Super-Earths have plate tectonics
and volcanoes for longer than Earth,
producing a stable carbon cycle, as
volcanoes emit the CO2 greenhousegas, while plate tectonics "pull" it
back to the volcano. The result is a
stable climate for billions of years.EARTH
SUPER-EARTH
1 When life began 3.5 billion years ago,
Eath was located inside
the habitable zone.2 Now, Earth is closer to the edge of the
zone, because the Sun is
heating up over time.3 In 1.75 billion years, the Sun will be so
hot that Earth is no longer
in the habitable zone.Earth leaves the habitable zone
Today, Earth is located in the Solar System’s habitable zone, but the
Sun’s temperature is increasing, and in 1.75 billion years, the zone will
move outward toward, and beyond, Mars.
PLANET WITH LIFE PLANET WITHOUT LIFEOUR SUNEARTHEHT
HBATI
ABLEZONE6,371 KM12,742 KM