Kepler-452b, a planet situated 1,400 light-years away from our solar system, has been confirmed to possess the optimal chemical conditions for life to thrive, according to a recent publication by a research team from the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (UK), published in the scientific journal Science Advances.
Simulation Image of Kepler-452b Constructed by NASA Using Data Collected on the Planet – Image: NASA
Utilizing various algorithms and analyzing the amount of ultraviolet light the planet receives from its central star, which plays the role of a “sun” in this planetary system, the authors assert that Kepler-452 has the potential to influence and trigger the chemical reactions essential for the emergence of life.
As previous studies have indicated, besides favorable conditions such as an ideal distance from the sun, orbital characteristics, planetary size, temperature, and atmosphere, a planet needs to possess primordial organic elements and a sequence of chemical reactions necessary to initiate life.
Our own Earth has gone through that phase, where ultraviolet rays from the sun initiated a chain of chemical reactions, giving rise to the “building blocks of life” and eventually the first organisms.