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Constraints on the Habitability of Extrasolar Moons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

René Heller  and
Rory Barnes
René Heller
Affiliation:
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam email: rheller@aip.de
Rory Barnes
Affiliation:
University of Washington, Dept. of Astronomy, Seattle, WA 98195, USA Virtual Planetary Laboratory, NASA, USA email: rory@astro.washington.edu
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Abstract

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Detections of massive extrasolar moons are shown feasible with the Kepler space telescope. Kepler's findings of about 50 exoplanets in the stellar habitable zone naturally make us wonder about the habitability of their hypothetical moons. Illumination from the planet, eclipses, tidal heating, and tidal locking distinguish remote characterization of exomoons from that of exoplanets. We show how evaluation of an exomoon's habitability is possible based on the parameters accessible by current and near-future technology.

Keywords

celestial mechanics – planets and satellites: general – astrobiology – eclipses

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