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Space

Pairs of giant planets may make their star systems ultra-habitable

Simulations of more than 140,000 possible planetary systems show that pairs of giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn may make their star systems more hospitable to habitable Earth-like worlds

By Leah Crane

16 May 2022

the spectacular conjunction of the moon,jupiter and saturn 3d rendering illustration; Shutterstock ID 1875982732; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Artist’s rendering of Earth with the moon, Jupiter and Saturn in the background

Shutterstock / SN VFX

Giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn may make Earth-like worlds in their star systems more hospitable to life. A study comparing more than 140,000 simulated planetary systems, each with two gas giants, found that while many of them wouldn’t allow any habitable Earth-like worlds, some resulted in “ultra-habitable” systems.

Planets are said to be habitable when they orbit their stars in a particular zone – close enough to allow liquid water on their surfaces but far enough away that it doesn’t…

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