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Free-Floating Planets: Could Their Moons Be the Key to Life in the Universe?
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According to astrophysicist Giulia Roccetti & her colleagues, moons orbiting rogue planets and staying warm for over a billion years could potentially create habitable conditions for life.
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It’s to be noted that the habitable conditions must be stable for hundreds of millions or billions of years for life to thrive.
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Some of the 100 starless planets may have moons that can be warm & hospitable.
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There may be as many free-floating planets as there are stars in the galaxy, as per computer simulations.
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While generating heat through friction, the gravitational pull of a planet on its moon can continually deform it.
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Moons are often taken by the planets when they are ejected from the solar system.
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The surface may be kept warm enough for liquid water to remain if a moon has a sufficiently thick, heat-trapping atmosphere.
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Chemical reactions with the CO2 & hydrogen in the atmosphere could cause water on such a moon.
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It was shown by the simulations run by Roccetti & her colleagues that the planets ejected from their solar systems could have habitable moons.
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