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The ultimate cataclysm: the orbital (in)stability of terrestrial planets in exoplanet systems including planets in binaries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
Abstract
There is no doubt that stability studies are of great importance in the fascinating research of extrasolar planetary systems. Even if most of the more than 300 extrasolar planets orbit their host stars as single giant planet and build simple two-body systems, we should not exclude the possibility that these systems could host other (small) planets that have not yet been detected due to obsevational limits. Another aspect to carry out stability studies is the growing interest in the search for extraterrestrial life in the universe. The long-term stability of a planetary system is one of the basic requirements for the evolution of life on a terrestrial planet. In this paper the dynamical behaviour of Earth-like planets will be discussed in single-star single-giant-planet systems, multi-planet systems and binary systems.
Keywords
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 8 , Special Issue 3: Special issue Papers from ESLAB 2008 Symposium Cosmic Cataclysms and Life , July 2009 , pp. 175 - 182
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009
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