What is an Earth-like planet called

The Earth appeared millions of years ago as a small blue ball suspended in the vacuum of black space, and it has a set of characteristics that distinguish it from other planets and make it a suitable place for humans to live. One of the most important features of the Earth is its hydrosphere, which continues to regenerate through a large water cycle, and the Earth’s atmosphere shares with it, and is another advantage of the Earth, as it consists of 78% of nitrogen, 21% of oxygen, and 1% of other elements, and it is what protects us From harmful solar radiation, meteors, and others. Because of the hydrospheres

and the atmosphere, the Earth represents a suitable place for the formation of vital life on its surface. The Earth is a different planet from the other planets because it is made up of a group of layers that separate matter from each other, and these layers are: the crust, the mantle, and the core. The location of the Earth to the Sun is a great advantage and an important factor for life, as it is in a position that allows the presence of the three forms of solid, liquid, and gaseous substances. All of these characteristics made the Earth a special planet, but scientists, while searching in space, found a group of planets similar to Earth in some of their characteristics, so what are these planets?

Earth-like planets

A planet is defined as a celestial body, located in orbit around the sun, and has a mass that gives it balance through its circular shape. The following is a group of Earth-like planets.

Kepler planets

Scientists have discovered many planets with the Kepler space telescope, and some of them are similar to Earth, so they called them Kepler, and these planets are:

Kepler-452b : which was discovered in 2015 AD, and one of its characteristics is that it is rocky like the earth, and its diameter is only one and a half times larger than the diameter of the earth, and it also has a solar system similar to the solar system of the earth, and it has a star similar to the sun, and it is within a region whose temperature is suitable for life.

Kepler-186f : which was discovered in 2014 AD, and is 500 light-years away from Earth. It is also more similar to Earth, as it is only 10% more than the size of the Earth. The surface of this planet is watery. The planet receives a third of the solar energy that reaches the Earth, as it includes in its orbit a red dwarf star colder than the sun and its size is half the size of the sun.

Kepler-62f : It was discovered in 2013 AD, and it was called the super-Earth, and it is 40% larger than the Earth, and it is also colder due to its wide orbit, which carries a star that is colder than the sun and smaller than it.

Kepler-69c : which was discovered with the planet Clipper 62f in 2013 AD, and it is 70% larger than the Earth. Nevertheless, it was called the super-Earth as well, due to the similarity of its star with the sun, as its luminosity is 80% of the luminosity of the sun.

Kepler-22b : It is the first planet discovered in a habitable temperature zone in 2009 AD, but it is a huge planet, its size is equal to 2.4 times the size of the Earth, and what distinguishes it is its star, which is very similar to the sun, and its orbit does not exceed 290 days, which is very similar to the Earth’s orbit, which is 360 days.

Proxima Centauri b

Scientists have discovered a planet in the habitable zone, a region that enjoys temperatures that enable water to take its liquid form, and this planet was named Proxima b. This planet revolves around its star Proxima Centauri b at a distance of 5% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and thus it is very close to its star, but it is not hot; This is because its star is smaller than the sun and less luminous. Proxima b has a mass greater than the Earth's mass by 1.5 times, and scientists believe that it is a rocky planet with an atmosphere, and it is a trillion km away from Earth.

Ross-128b

At a distance of 11 light-years from our solar system, scientists have discovered an Earth-sized planet called Ross-128b, which is a temperature similar to Earth that comes from its satellite star called Bruce 128, which is a cold and small star, and despite its proximity to the planet Ross 128b by 20 times The distance between the Earth and the Sun, but the planet is within the habitable zone.

Characteristics of planet

The planet must be characterized by a set of characteristics to be an alternative to the Earth or an incubator for other life, and these characteristics include:

Moderate temperature : Life is not possible without the presence of liquid water, which is affected by the temperatures on the surface of the planet. If it was cold, the water would freeze, and if the temperature was high, the water would evaporate.

The magnetic field : the sun emits potentially fatal rays; Because it creates winds laden with high-speed and energy particles, the magnetic field directs these winds in a way that prevents them from colliding with the Earth.

Atmosphere : This protects from ultraviolet rays, radiation from stars, and other things that it blocks. It is also the atmosphere and the elements it contains that support the existence of life on Earth.

Searching for planets

Scientists are constantly striving to discover vast space, and the most famous space agencies that search for planets and stars outside our solar galaxy are the US NASA and the European ESA. It was the first planet that scientists found outside our solar system in 1995, and after this date, discoveries continued until they reached two thousand planets in 2015, bringing the total number of discovered planets to nearly 3600. Many of these planets were gaseous and giant, similar to Jupiter until scientists were able to discover some planets that are similar to Earth in their characteristics, and some of them can become habitable, but the only problem remains that these planets are far from Earth at very large distances, and despite that, curiosity The scientific study of planets and the development of a unified pattern of the nature of the universe keeps the discoveries and search for planets continuing.

Characteristics of the planet incubating life

The idea of the existence of other life on another planet in this universe other than the life we know on Earth still arouses the curiosity of scientists for research and discovery, and the idea of finding a planet that humans can move to is also a fictional idea that still represents a passion for scientists and astronauts. For the planet to be habitable, it must be characterized by a set of qualities, and it must possess a set of important elements that cannot arise without life.

Planet characteristics

The planet must be characterized by a set of characteristics in order to be an alternative to the Earth or an incubator for other life, and these characteristics include:

Moderate temperature : Because life is not possible without the presence of liquid water, which is affected by the temperatures on the surface of the planet. If it was cold, the water would freeze, and if the temperature was high, the water would evaporate.

The magnetic field : the sun emits potentially fatal rays; Because it creates winds laden with high-speed and energy particles, the magnetic field directs these winds in a way that prevents them from colliding with the Earth.

Atmosphere : which provides protection from ultraviolet rays, radiation from stars, and other things that it blocks. It is also the atmosphere and the elements it contains that support the existence of life on Earth.

Elements of life on the planet called

Scientists have identified five elements that must exist for there to be life on the planet, which are:

Water : It is the basis of chemical reactions as it is a solvent for the elements that organisms need to take place in their reactions.

Carbon : It is the element that is the basis for the formation of organic compounds such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Nitrogen : It is also the basis for the formation of organic compounds, and is also important for making DNA a carrier of the genetic code.

Phosphorous : It is a vital component of cell membranes, and is necessary for the creation of DNA.

Sulfur : which is an important element in biochemical reactions, and enzymes do not work without it, and it is a component of many vitamins and enzymes. Sulfur can be an energy generator in the absence of oxygen and light.