Moons orbiting starless "rogue" planets could stay warm enough to host liquid water for billions of years, a new study suggests, potentially creating long-lived habitats for life in the depths of space.
Using computer models, researchers found that temperatures on an Earth-size moon orbiting a Jupiter-like rogue planet could remain warm enough to support liquid water on its surface for up to 4.3 billion years — nearly as long as Earth has existed.
"The cradle of life does not necessarily require a sun," study lead author David Dahlbüdding, a researcher at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, said in a statement.
