Astronomers at the University of Michigan have proposed a new way to search for habitable planets. The team suggests that the space between the star and the soot-line in planet-forming disks should be considered. Planets that form in this region could have surfaces rich in volatile carbon compounds, which would make them rich in organic carbon but water poor. Current models of rocky exoplanets are built using Earth-like atmospheric conditions and bulk composition, including the molecules essential for life that form from carbon-based building blocks and water. However, the new model considers the soot line, a boundary closer to the solar system’s star, which could encompass rocky planets that may have more carbon than Earth has, raising questions about what that means for habitability in these kinds of planets. The findings by the interdisciplinary research team are published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
