Astronomers detect strong radio signals from an Earth size exoplanet hinting the existence of life.

As
per reports by CNN, astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from an
earth-size exoplanet and the star that it orbits, both located 12 light-years
away from Earth.
The
signal suggests that the planet may have a magnetic field and perhaps even an
atmosphere which also suggests the existence of life on the exoplanet.
The
name of the star from where strong radio waves were coming is the YZ Ceti and
the rocky exoplanet that orbits it, is called YZ Ceti b which astronomers
Sebastian Pineda and Jackie Villadsen from the University of Colorado (US) and
Bucknell University (US), respectively, observed using the Karl G. Jansky Very
Large Array, a radio telescope operated by the US National Science Foundation's
National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Their
findings are published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
"Whether
a planet survives with an atmosphere or not can depend on whether the planet
has a strong magnetic field or not," explained Pineda.
On
a weekend, Villadsen was pouring through data at her house when she first
identified the radio signal.
"We
saw the initial burst and it looked beautiful," said lead study author
Sebastian Pineda."When we saw it again, it was very indicative that, OK,
maybe we really have something here."
The
researchers believed the stellar radio waves were caused by interactions
between the planet's magnetic field and the star it orbits.
They
further said, however, in order for the radio waves to be detectable on Earth,
they must be very strong.
"Whether
a planet survives with an atmosphere or not can depend on whether the planet
has a strong magnetic field or not," Pineda said.
They
added that they are looking for a way to find magnetic fields on smaller
planets the size of Earth which is difficult because magnetic fields are
essentially invisible.
Previously,
researchers have detected magnetic fields on exoplanets similar in size to
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.
"If
the planet has a magnetic field and it plows through enough star stuff, it will
cause the star to emit bright radio waves," they said.
The
scientist said that YZ Ceti b completes one orbit of its star in just two days
on Earth. Meanwhile, the planet Mercury, whose orbit around the sun lasts 88
Earth days, has the shortest orbit in our solar system.
Plasma
from the star strikes the magnetic field of YZ Ceti b, bounces off, and
interacts with the star's magnetic field as the planet whirls around its star
which is when strong radio waves are produced and released enough to be seen on
Earth.
The
researchers then measure the radio waves they detected to determine the
strength of the planet's magnetic field.
"The
search for potentially habitable or life-bearing worlds in other solar systems
depends in part on being able to determine if rocky, Earth-like exoplanets
actually have magnetic fields," says National Science Foundation's (NSF's)
Joe Pesce, program director for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
"This
research shows not only that this particular rocky exoplanet likely has a
magnetic field but provides a promising method to find more."
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