Constraints of habitability for the young Earth in a highly eccentric orbit

Elke Pilat-Lohinger, Kristina G. Kislyakova, Helmut Lammer, Colin P. Johnstone, David Bancelin, Ákos Bazsó

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Thousands of planets outside the Solar system have been discovered, with exoplanets in different environments. Since we cannot expect to find an exoplanetary system fully resembling our Solar System, we consider a Solar System type configuration where the Earth moves in an eccentric orbit. We focus on young Earth 1 billion years ago, when the Sun's extreme UV (EUV) flux was about 5 times higher than the current radiation. In case of eccentric motion of Earth, strong variations of the EUV flux would influence the evolution of the planet's atmosphere (EUV radiation of 50 times the current EUV flux would be possible). Taking into account a certain amount of Nitrogen in the atmosphere of such a young Earth, we study the non-thermal loss of N2 over a long time interval. We therefore investigate to what extent eccentric motion will influence the conditions of habitability of a terrestrial planet.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)358-359
Number of pages2
JournalProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Volume14
Issue numberS345
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2020

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 103003 Astronomy
  • 103004 Astrophysics

Keywords

  • Young Earth
  • eccentric motion
  • EUV flux
  • Nitrogen loss

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