Looking for a "Superhabitable" World? Try Alpha Centauri B, says Astrobiology Journal

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Jan. 23, 2014 - PRLog -- The search for extraterrestrial life extends far beyond Earth's solar system, looking for planets or moons outside the "stellar habitable zone" that may have environments even more favorable to supporting life than here on Earth. These superhabitable worlds have unique characteristics and are ideal targets for extrasolar exploration, as described in a provocative Hypothesis Article in Astrobiology (http://www.liebertpub.com/ast), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free on the Astrobiology (www.liebertpub.com/ast) website.

In “Superhabitable Worlds (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2013.1088)” René Heller, McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) and John Armstrong, Weber State University (Ogden, UT), propose how tidal heating can create conditions in which life could emerge on an icy or terrestrial planet or moon once thought to be uninhabitable.

“A great place for hydrothermal microorganisms and a volcanic eruption in the weather forecast every morning and evening,” says Norman Sleep, Senior Editor for Astrobiology and Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, “a tidally heated planet would be unpleasant though spectacular to visit.”

About the Journal
Astrobiology (www.liebertpub.com/ast), led by Editor-in-Chief Sherry L. Cady, Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and a prominent international editorial board comprised of esteemed scientists in the field, is the authoritative resource for the most up-to-date information and perspectives on exciting new research findings and discoveries emanating from interplanetary exploration and terrestrial field and laboratory research programs. The Journal is published monthly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the Official Journal of the Astrobiology Society (www.astrobiosociety.org/). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Astrobiology (www.liebertpub.com/ast) website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including New Space and High Altitude Medicine & Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (www.liebertpub.com) website.