According to a new study, heat radiating from gas giant planets could pose a problem for otherwise habitable exomoons in distant solar systems.

Over 1000 extrasolar planets have now been identified, but most are gas giants and not rocky planets like Earth. Astrobiologists have wondered if a gas giant orbiting in the habitable zone of its host star could host rocky moons that are suitable for life as we know it. The new study, which includes work from the NASA Virtual Planetary Laboratory at the University of Washington, examines this possibility.

The researchers found that conditions around a freshly formed gas giant planet might present a challenge in the formation of habitable moons. Heat emanating from the planet and irradiation from the system’s host star could actually ‘roast’ moons and leave them without water.