New Constraints on the Hability of Exomoons

A new study on magnetic fields around extrasolar giant planets sheds first light on the magnetic environment of extrasolar moons.

The work, authored by René Heller of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University (Canada) and Jorge I. Zuluaga of the FACom group in the Institute of Physics of the University of Antioquia (Colombia), is the first to explore the complex magnetic environment of exomoons and its impact on the habitability of these peculiar bodies.

Regrettably the results are not completely encouraging. Even the most massive moons that can be expected from a formation point of view will be small compared to Earth. Thus, the only possibility these moons can be magnetically protected from the stellar and cosmic high-energy radiation is that they are encased by their giant planet’s magnetosphere. Yet, in orbits close to the planet, these moons can be subject to enormous tidal heating, potentially making them uninhabitable. These results represent just the beginning of an interesting research branch, which introduces a new key factor for the habitability of those “Pandora”-like environments.

link to article.

link to paper.