Super-Earths may be hostile to life
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The term super-Earth refers only to the mass of the planet, and does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability. An alternative term "gas dwarf" may be more accurate for some examples, especially higher mass ones. Planets are thought to owe their magnetic fields to an iron core that is at least partly molten. But a simulation of super-Earths between a few times and 10 times Earth's mass suggests that high pressures will keep the core solid. Without a magnetic field, the planets would be bathed in harmful radiation, and their atmospheres would be eroded away by particles streaming from their stars. So life would have trouble getting started on super-Earths, even if they lie in the habitable zone around their stars.
The magnetosphere, or Earth's magnetic field, which is the main reason why earth supports life, extends 60,000 miles (100,000 km) on the day side of the planet and farther on the night side.
According to Vlada Stamankovic of the German Aerospace Center in Berlin, ”it is too soon to rule out molten iron cores - and magnetic fields - for super-Earths. Actual temperatures could be much larger than assumed which might melt the iron core”. Therefore super earths can’t support life.
Via:newscientist
