Comparing these speeds allowed us to delineate an “abiogenesis zone” (abiogenesis means “origin of life”) – the region at the right distance from a star for chemistry in the light to outcompete the chemistry in the dark. Kepler 452b is one of numerous planets discovered by the Kepler telescope, an orbiting observatory that was launched by NASA in 2009 to find exoplanets - planets outside out own solar system. Of these, only about 50 are known to occupy their star's habitable zone but not all are thought to receive the right amount and type of UV to kickstart the origins of life. Among the known exoplanets which reside in the abiogenesis zone are several planets detected by the Kepler telescope, including Kepler 452b, a planet that has been nicknamed Earth's 'cousin', although it is too far away to probe with current technology. Kepler-452 is the same type of star as our own sun, and likely produces enough UV light to kickstart a series of chemical reactions that produce the building blocks of life, while the planet is also the correct distance from the star for liquid water to exist stably on its surface, he explained. The researchers measured how quickly the building blocks of life can form - both under UV light and in the dark - in the same chemical soup it bloomed from on ancient Earth: Hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulphite ions in water. Duplicating earlier work conducted in 2015, the Cambridge researchers created the precursors of lipids, amino acids and nucleotides - all essential components of living cells. They then went a step further by comparing the UV light used in the laboratory to that generated by different stars. In certain environments, with the right conditions, hydrogen cyanide and a negatively charged ion can lead to the formation of many of life’s building blocks selectively and at large concentrations. The star which it orbits, Kepler 452, in the constellation of Cygnus, is about 20% brighter than the sun and some two billion years older. Kepler 452b has also been described as a "super-Earth" because its mass is higher than Earth's but much less than the larger planets of the solar system, like Jupiter and Saturn, which are called gas giants. A group of these rocky bodies pinpointed by the team also lie within the habitable range where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. Lead scientist Dr Paul Rimmer, from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory, said: “This work allows us to narrow down the best places to search for life. “It brings us just a little bit closer to addressing the question of whether we are alone in the universe.“ Most known habitable zone planets orbit close to cool red dwarf stars. In our new study, published in Science Advances, we identify combinations of planetary temperature and light conditions sufficient to give rise to the building blocks of life. According to recent estimates, there could be as many as 700 million trillion Earth-like planets in the observable universe. Dr Paul Rimmer, a postdoctoral researcher with affiliation to Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory and the first author of the paper in which the findings were revealed, said: "It makes sense to look for places that are most like us. "The building blocks are necessary, but they may not be sufficient: it's possible you could mix them for billions of years and nothing happens. The scientists who carried out the research, which is published in the journal Science Advances, say that although Kepler 452b is too far away to probe with current technology, the next-generation telescopes, such as NASA's TESS and James Webb Telescopes, should be able to identify many more planets within an abiogenesis zone.
Kepler-452b emerges as an exoplanet that might support alien life.