Exoplanets need right stuff to be habitable
Wrong composition could prevent tectonic activity necessary for life, study suggests
TECTONIC SHIFTS Kepler 186f, illustrated, sits the right distance from its sun for liquid water, but scientists don’t know if it has other properties, such as plate tectonics, required for life. Plate tectonics may not be possible on certain exoplanets due to their compositions, new research finds.
NASA Ames, SETI Institute, JPL-Caltech