YaleNews | A better way to learn if alien planets have the right stuff
http://news.yale.edu/2016/08/24/better-way-learn-if-alien-planets-have-right-stuff
A new method for analyzing the chemical composition of stars may help scientists winnow the search for Earth 2.0.
Yale University researchers Debra Fischer and John Michael Brewer, in a new study that will appear in the Astrophysical Journal, describe
a computational modeling technique that gives a clearer sense of the chemistry of stars, revealing the conditions present when their planets
formed. The system creates a new way to assess the habitability and biological evolution possibilities of planets outside our solar system.
“This is a very useful, easy diagnostic to tell whether that pale blue dot you see is more similar to Venus or the Earth,” said Fischer,
a Yale professor of astronomy. “Our field is very focused on finding Earth 2.0, and anything we can do to narrow the search is helpful.”
Lead author Brewer, a postdoctoral researcher at Yale, has used the technique previously to determine temperature, surface gravity, rotational
speed, and chemical composition information for 1,600 stars, based on 15 elements found within those stars. The new study looks at roughly 800
stars, focusing on their ratio of carbon to oxygen, and magnesium to silicon.