NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope- Asteroid Belt

Solar systems with life-bearing planets may be rare if they are reliant on the presence of asteroid belts of presently the right mass, according to a study by Rebecca Martin, a NASA Sagan associate from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and astronomer Mario Livio of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

They imply that the size and position of an asteroid belt, shaped by the evolution of the sun's planet-forming disk and by the gravitational influence of a nearby giant Jupiter-like planet, may establish whether complex life will change on an Earth-like planet. The astronomers based their conclusion on an analysis of hypothetical models and archival observations, including infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

NASA's Spitzer Detects Comet Storm In Nearby Solar System

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment," which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth.

During this epoch, comets and other frosty objects that were flung from the outer solar system pummeled the inner planets. The barrage scarred our moon and produced large amounts of dust.

Now Spitzer has spotted a band of dust around a nearby bright star in the northern sky called Eta Corvi that strongly matches the contents of an obliterated giant comet. This dust is located close enough to Eta Corvi that Earth-like worlds could exist, suggesting a collision took place between a planet and one or more comets. The Eta Corvi system is approximately one billion years old, which researchers think is about the right age for such a hailstorm.