Kepler 22b, the most Earth-like object, is only 635 light-years away from us. Can humans migrate there?

635 light-years away, is Kepler 22b really habitable for humans on Earth?

Scientists have been exploring which planets other than Earth are suitable for human habitation. From within the solar system to the solar system, the scope of human observation is becoming wider and wider, and there are many planets close to the Earth, such as the planet closest to the Earth that we are going to talk about today - Kepler 22b.

There is a planet in outer space 635 light-years away from Earth. This is the first planet discovered in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. Its name is Kepler 22b. When a planet is in the habitable zone of a star, it means that there is a possibility of liquid water on its surface. If there is water, there may also be conditions for life to live. So is Kepler 22b really habitable?

Kepler-22b is what scientists call the most Earth-like exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system. It's not easy to spot exoplanets like Kepler-22b, the bright glare from the stars they orbit often hides them from our telescopes. Scientists discovered Kepler-22b using what's called the transit method. They observed the star that the Kepler-22 exoplanet orbits and noticed that its brightness changes over time, because Kepler-22b blocks the star's light, which helps scientists understand the size of Kepler-22b and its orbit.

Kepler 22b has a mass 36 times that of Earth and a radius 2.5 times that of ours. A year on Kepler 22b is 290 days, and it is 15 times closer to its star than we are to the Sun. If Earth were that close to our star, humans would be toasty! Kepler 22b is lucky, its star is smaller and cooler than the Sun, so despite being closer, Kepler 22b receives about the same amount of heat as Earth. The temperature on Kepler 22b is probably around 15 to 22 degrees Celsius, similar to the weather on Earth in spring, and even more habitable than Earth, but Kepler has a huge flaw.

According to some observational data, Kepler 22b rotates in the same way as Uranus, with its axis facing the star and rolling around the star like a wheel. This may sound insignificant, but it adds a potentially deadly complexity. This means that its north and south poles will be shrouded in darkness or sunlight for half a year, and there will be huge temperature differences.

There is also a new study that shows that Kepler-22b may be covered by a 50-meter-deep ocean. The ocean will be able to act as a natural climate control. The ocean can store heat in the summer and release heat in the winter, which will lead to a mild climate. It seems that Kepler 22b is indeed suitable for Earthlings to live. But we have overlooked a key problem. Kepler 22b is 635 light years away from us, which is an unreachable distance. Even if you travel at the speed of light, it will take 635 years, unless we can have a light-speed spacecraft and humans can hibernate in a device that can preserve your body to a state that exceeds its natural lifespan, such as cryogenic sleep.

NASA has developed a cryogenic sleep chamber that can lower astronauts' body temperature to 32 degrees Celsius to induce natural hibernation. During hibernation, catheters will provide your body with nutrients and remove any waste, but even in cryogenic sleep, it's still a fairly long and risky journey.

There is still very little we know about Kepler-22b, such as what the gravity is like there. It could be twice that of Earth. If that is the case, a 10 kg bag of objects would now weigh 20 kg. Your body would also have to withstand double the weight. If you brought any plants with you, they might not be able to survive on Kepler 22b. Animals would also need to speed up their evolutionary process to adapt.

So far, scientists are still not sure whether Kepler 22b is a rocky planet. It may be gaseous, similar to Neptune. Our understanding of Kepler 22b is only preliminary data. Before the probe arrives, our understanding of it is still blank.

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