Although humans in ancient times could see the starry sky above their heads, they didn’t know what kind of world the starry sky was like? In the eyes of the ancients, the earth is the entire universe, and the sun, moon and stars in the sky belong to the earth.
With the continuous progress and development of human civilization, science has entered people’s field of vision. With the help of scientific power, we have begun to re-understand the world and the vast starry sky above. Nowadays, we all know that the world outside the earth is called the universe, and the earth, the homeland of human existence, is nothing but a dust of this vast universe, perhaps not even a dust of dust.
If the universe is compared to a sea, then the solar system and the earth are just a drop of water in the sea, we can see how small the earth is. After leaving the earth, human beings not only realized the mystery of the vast universe, but also realized the various threats that the earth will face in the future.
It may seem to many people that the earth can remain stable for billions of years, without a devastating disaster, and there will be no end in the future. However, with the continuous development of science and technology and the continuous improvement of cognition of the universe, scientists’ views are quite different. In the eyes of many scientists, the earth has been safe and sound for the past billions of years, and luck has taken over. Great ingredients.
But can luck always accompany the earth? Can human beings survive by luck? The answer is no. If human civilization wants to continue forever, it cannot rely solely on luck. There are too many disasters in the vast universe that can seriously threaten the safety of the earth, such as the impact of asteroids.
I believe many friends know that an asteroid about 10 kilometers in diameter hit the earth 65 million ago, triggering the fifth mass extinction and the extinction of the 160 million dinosaurs that dominated the earth. A small asteroid ended the age of dinosaurs, and the number of asteroids in the solar system was very large. Many asteroids were far more than 10 kilometers in diameter.
If an asteroid with a diameter of 100 kilometers hits the earth, it is estimated that the entire ecosystem will completely collapse, and the earth will become a desolate planet that is not suitable for life. Asteroid impact is not the most powerful of all cosmic disasters. In fact, compared to other cosmic disasters, asteroid impact is nothing at all.
Some terrible disasters in the universe are incomparable to asteroid impacts. For example, supernovae explode. When massive stars reach the end, they will cause supernova explosions. This is the most violent type of energy explosion in the universe, and its range of influence Up to a thousand light years. If there are living planets within this range, then the gamma rays produced by the explosion are enough to make life extinct.
It can be seen that the environment of the universe is not peaceful and safe at all, and various disasters are happening all the time. The famous physicist Hawking has also issued warnings many times: saying that the earth is not the permanent home of mankind. For the continuation of mankind, we must Efforts to find “Earth II”, and then immigrate to a new home.
To realize migration, human beings must first find a second planet suitable for human existence. In fact, human beings have been looking for “Earth II” after they walked out of the earth. If there is an “Earth II” in the solar system, it will naturally be a very good thing. However, after exploration, we found that the solar system has three habitable planets. Except for the earth, the other two are not suitable for human survival.
Although the exploration of Mars by humans is accelerating and we hope to transform it into a planet suitable for human survival, we must understand that Mars is not a naturally habitable planet. Even if it can be transformed in the future, it will not become a new ideal for mankind. home.
The ideal new home for mankind still needs to be found outside the solar system. There are countless galaxies and planets in the vast universe. Naturally, there is no shortage of “Earth II” suitable for human survival.
Through unremitting efforts, scientists have discovered more than 3,000 star systems and found more than 4,100 exoplanets. We have to thank the Kepler Astronomical Telescope for achieving such a good achievement. With this powerful starry sky telescope, we can find thousands of exoplanets in a short period of time.
With the retirement of the Kepler Telescope in 2018, the new Planetary Survey Satellite (TESS) has taken over Kepler’s important task. As a new generation of star-seeking telescope, TESS naturally has its unusual features. The TESS Planetary Telescope has lived up to expectations and has found many planets for us. Among them, a very unique planet has attracted the attention of scientists.
Scientists named this unique planet TOI-700d. It is about 101 light-years away from the Earth. Its main star is a red dwarf TOI-700. The mass of a red dwarf is naturally not as large as that of the sun. The mass of TOI-700 is about 40% of that of the sun. If the mass is too small, the internal nuclear fusion reaction is naturally weaker. The energy released is also less than that of the sun, and the surface temperature will be lower. In the sun’s temperature.
Scientists have concluded through observational research that the surface temperature of TOI-700 is about 3200 degrees Celsius, which is 2300 degrees Celsius lower than the surface of the sun. There are three planets around the star TOI-700. Through observational research, it is found that only TOI-700d can meet the characteristics of a habitable planet.
TOI-700d is also a rocky star with a diameter of about 2.4 times that of the Earth, and a distance of about 24.4 million kilometers from the host star. Although this distance is very close, because the main star is a red dwarf with a low surface temperature, this range is instead a habitable zone.
Through preliminary observation and analysis, TOI-700d is undoubtedly a super-Earth. There may be a large amount of liquid water on its surface, which has the potential to become “Earth II.” Of course, due to the long distance, if you want to know the detailed data of this planet, it is impossible to rely solely on the astronomical telescope. We can only hope that mankind’s scientific and technological strength will go further. After the realization of interstellar navigation, we can explore this planet to see if it meets the conditions for human habitability.
Since “Earth II” is located in other galaxies outside the solar system, if humans want to migrate in the future, they must have the ability of interstellar navigation. Otherwise, the exaggerated cosmic scale will become a powerful obstacle, preventing us from going out, and it is not an easy task to achieve preliminary interstellar navigation.
Of course, going out of the earth and heading towards the stars is the path that human civilization must take forever. No matter how many obstacles there are, we must overcome them one by one. Only the vast starry sky is the basis for the eternal continuation of human civilization. If trapped on the earth or in the solar system, human civilization will face unknown disasters and risks at any time.