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Author Topic: Life on super earth planets  (Read 10050 times)

raxo2222

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Life on super earth planets
« on: November 17, 2017, 06:40:00 AM »
How would life evolve on such planets?
Super earth planets would have higher surface gravity and escape velocity meaning its easier to retain atmosphere due to its much higher mass.
This would mean atmospheric composition changes would be more damped than on Earth.

Would be here more or less land area on such planets comparing to Earth?
I heard somewhere, that such exoplanets would be archipelago world - flatter mountains and smaller continents.

What about intelligent life?
Would be it possible here?
I guess all lifeforms would be smaller due to higher surface gravity.

I wonder how such civilization in equivalent of our modern era would look and act.

felipe

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2017, 09:32:41 AM »
if you are saying planet with mass about 1.5 to somewhere about 5 times the mass of Earth there could be a civilization, but if is bigger than 5 or 6 times the mass of Earth the life there would have some problems to evolve (like the situation on the exoplanet Tau Ceti E)

raxo2222

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2017, 10:37:37 AM »
I guess they would be in love-hate relationship with nuclear power, as it has much more power density but being more dangerous than chemical propulsion if they wanted to be space faring civilization :p

JMBuilder

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2017, 03:21:06 PM »
With higher gravity and a thicker atmosphere, I imagine life would be bigger and stronger in general. Their muscle mass would need to be able to counteract that tough gravity and the vast atmosphere would practically force oxygen into their bloodstream.

raxo2222

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2017, 10:23:22 AM »
I wonder what is maximum land area for planets.
Big and heavy planets can trap too much gas and become gas giants.
Slightly smaller planets might get whole surface covered by oceans.

electricpants

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2017, 03:34:30 PM »
Life would likely definitely be able to exist on super-earths, even extremely massive ones where the gravity is significantly higher than earth's.

I mean, there's life deep in the mariana trench where the pressures are absolutely crushing. Literally.

Physics_Hacker

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Re: Life on super earth planets
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2017, 02:59:02 AM »
I suspect there wouldn't be a whole lot of land creatures, too much gravity to stay upright without being giant slug things. But I also think there could easily be avian creatures staying permanently "afloat" on their wings due to a thicker atmosphere so much more buoyancy and maybe marine creatures could live on the ocean floor kind of like land creatures except they breathe water. Now as for the topography it could either be very smooth due to increased gravity or extremely widely ranged due to the large amounts of plate tectonics such a planet would generate from the convecting of such a gigantic mantle.