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A Habitable Zone for Complex Life (HZCL) is a range of distances from a star suitable for complex aerobic life. Different types of limitations preventing complex life give rise to different zones. [1] Conventional habitable zones are based on compatibility with water. [2] Most zones start at a distance from the host star and then end at a distance farther from the star. A planet would need to orbit inside the boundaries of this zone. With multiple zonal constraints, the zones would need to overlap for the planet to support complex life. The requirements for bacterial life produce much larger zones than those for complex life, which requires a very narrow zone. [3] [4] [5]
The first confirmed exoplanets was discovered in 1992, several planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12. [6] Since then the list of exoplanets has grown to the thousands. [7] Most exoplanets are hot Jupiter planets, that orbit very close the star. [8] Many exoplanets are super-Earths, that could be a gas dwarf or large rocky planet, like Kepler-442b at a mass 2.36 times Earths. [9]
Unstable stars are young and old stars, or very large or small stars. Unstable stars have changing solar luminosity that changes the size of the life habitable zones. Unstable stars also produce extreme solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can strip away a planet's atmosphere that is not replaceable. Thus life habitable zones require and very stable star like the Sun, at ±0.1% solar luminosity change. [10] [11] Finding a stable star, like the Sun, is the search for a solar twin, with solar analogs that have been found. [12] Proper star metallicity, size, mass, age, color, and temperature are also very important to having low luminosity variations. [13] [14] [15] The Sun is unique as it is metal rich for its age and type, a G2V star. The Sun is currently in its most stable stage and has the correct metallicity to make it very stable. [16] Dwarf stars (red dwarf/orange dwarf/brown dwarf/subdwarf) are not only unstable, but also emit low energy, so the habitable zone is very close to the star and planets become tidally locked on the timescales needed for the development of life. [17] Giant stars (subgiant/giant star/red giant/red supergiant) are unstable and emit high energy, so the habitable zone is very far from the star. [18] Multiple-star systems are also very common and are not suitable for complex life, as the planet orbit would be unstable due to multiple gravitational forces and solar radiation. Liquid water is possible in Multiple-star systems. [19] [20] [21] [22]
A conventional habitable zone is defined by liquid water.
Over time and with more research, astronomers, cosmologists and astrobiologist have discovered more parameters needed for life. Each parameter could have a corresponding zone. Some of the named zones include: [29] [30]
Some factors that depend on planetary distance and may limit complex aerobic life have not been given zone names. These include:
Life on Earth is carbon-based. However, some theories suggest that life could be based on other elements in the periodic table. [101] Other elements proposed have been silicon, boron, arsenic, ammonia, methane and others. As more research has been done on life on Earth, it has been found that only carbon's organic molecules have the complexity and stability to form life. [102] [103] [104] Carbon properties allows for complex chemical bonding that produces covalent bonds needed for organic chemistry. Carbon molecules are lightweight and relatively small in size. Carbon's ability to bond to oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur (called CHNOPS) is key to life. [105] [106] [107]
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not then recognized as such. The first confirmation of the detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, first detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. As of 18 June 2024, there are 6,140 confirmed exoplanets in 4,527 planetary systems, with 969 systems having more than one planet. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to discover more exoplanets, and to give more insight into their traits, such as their composition, environmental conditions, and potential for life.
In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life and the evolution of biological complexity, such as sexually reproducing, multicellular organisms on Earth, and subsequently human intelligence, required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances. According to the hypothesis, complex extraterrestrial life is an improbable phenomenon and likely to be rare throughout the universe as a whole. The term "Rare Earth" originates from Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000), a book by Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and Donald E. Brownlee, an astronomer and astrobiologist, both faculty members at the University of Washington.
In astronomy and astrobiology, the habitable zone (HZ), or more precisely the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure. The bounds of the HZ are based on Earth's position in the Solar System and the amount of radiant energy it receives from the Sun. Due to the importance of liquid water to Earth's biosphere, the nature of the HZ and the objects within it may be instrumental in determining the scope and distribution of planets capable of supporting Earth-like extraterrestrial life and intelligence.
An exomoon or extrasolar moon is a natural satellite that orbits an exoplanet or other non-stellar extrasolar body.
Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from another body, through a hypothetical process known as panspermia. Environments do not need to contain life to be considered habitable nor are accepted habitable zones (HZ) the only areas in which life might arise.
HD 69830 d is an exoplanet likely orbiting within the habitable zone of the star HD 69830, the outermost of three such planets discovered in the system. It is located approximately 40.7 light-years (12.49 parsecs, or 3.8505×1014 km) from Earth in the constellation of Puppis. The exoplanet was found by using the radial velocity method, from radial-velocity measurements via observation of Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the planet's parent star.
An ocean world, ocean planet or water world is a type of planet that contains a substantial amount of water in the form of oceans, as part of its hydrosphere, either beneath the surface, as subsurface oceans, or on the surface, potentially submerging all dry land. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid or thalassogen, such as lava, ammonia or hydrocarbons. The study of extraterrestrial oceans is referred to as planetary oceanography.
The habitability of natural satellites is the potential of moons to provide habitats for life, though it is not an indicator that they harbor it. Natural satellites are expected to outnumber planets by a large margin and the study of their habitability is therefore important to astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life. There are, nevertheless, significant environmental variables specific to moons.
An Earth analog, also called an Earth analogue, Earth twin, or second Earth, is a planet or moon with environmental conditions similar to those found on Earth. The term Earth-like planet is also used, but this term may refer to any terrestrial planet.
An exoplanet is a planet located outside the Solar System. The first evidence of an exoplanet was noted as early as 1917, but was not recognized as such until 2016; no planet discovery has yet come from that evidence. What turned out to be the first detection of an exoplanet was published among a list of possible candidates in 1988, though not confirmed until 2003. The first confirmed detection came in 1992, with the discovery of terrestrial-mass planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12. The first confirmation of an exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star was made in 1995, when a giant planet was found in a four-day orbit around the nearby star 51 Pegasi. Some exoplanets have been imaged directly by telescopes, but the vast majority have been detected through indirect methods, such as the transit method and the radial-velocity method. As of 18 June 2024, there are 6,140 confirmed exoplanets in 4,527 planetary systems, with 969 systems having more than one planet. This is a list of the most notable discoveries.
K-type main-sequence stars, also known as orange dwarfs, may be candidates for supporting extraterrestrial life. These stars are known as "Goldilocks stars" as they emit enough radiation in the non-UV ray spectrum to provide a temperature that allows liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet; they also remain stable in the main sequence longer than the Sun by burning their hydrogen slower, allowing more time for life to form on a planet around a K-type main-sequence star. The planet's habitable zone, ranging from 0.1–0.4 to 0.3–1.3 astronomical units (AU), depending on the size of the star, is often far enough from the star so as not to be tidally locked to the star, and to have a sufficiently low solar flare activity not to be lethal to life. In comparison, red dwarf stars have too much solar activity and quickly tidally lock the planets in their habitable zones, making them less suitable for life. The odds of complex life arising may be better on planets around K-type main-sequence stars than around Sun-like stars, given the suitable temperature and extra time available for it to evolve. Some planets around K-type main-sequence stars are potential candidates for extraterrestrial life.
The theorized habitability of red dwarf systems is determined by a large number of factors. Modern evidence indicates that planets in red dwarf systems are unlikely to be habitable, due to their low stellar flux, high probability of tidal locking and thus likely lack of magnetospheres and atmospheres, small circumstellar habitable zones and the high stellar variation experienced by planets of red dwarf stars. However, the sheer numbers and longevity of red dwarfs could provide ample opportunity to realize any small possibility of habitability.
Kepler-186f is an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Kepler-186, the outermost of five such planets discovered around the star by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. It is located about 580 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus.
A superhabitable world is a hypothetical type of planet or moon that is better suited than Earth for the emergence and evolution of life. The concept was introduced in a 2014 paper by René Heller and John Armstrong, in which they criticized the language used in the search for habitable exoplanets and proposed clarifications. The authors argued that knowing whether a world is located within the star's habitable zone is insufficient to determine its habitability, that the principle of mediocrity cannot adequately explain why Earth should represent the archetypal habitable world, and that the prevailing model of characterization was geocentric or anthropocentric in nature. Instead, they proposed a biocentric approach that prioritized astrophysical characteristics affecting the abundance and variety of life on a world's surface.
HIP 57274 d is an exoplanet orbiting the K-type main sequence star HIP 57274 about 84.5 light-years (26 parsecs, or nearly 8.022×1016 km) from Earth in the constellation Cetus. It orbits within the outer part of its star's habitable zone, at a distance of 1.01 AU. The exoplanet was found by using the radial velocity method, from radial-velocity measurements via observation of Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the planet's parent star.
TRAPPIST-1e, also designated as 2MASS J23062928-0502285 e, is a rocky, close-to-Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone around the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, located 40.7 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. Astronomers used the transit method to find the exoplanet, a method that measures the dimming of a star when a planet crosses in front of it.
Kepler-1649c is an Earth-sized exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Kepler-1649, the outermost planet of the planetary system discovered by Kepler’s space telescope. It is located about 301 light-years (92 pc) away from Earth, in the constellation of Cygnus.
Kepler-737b is a super-Earth exoplanet 669 light years away. There is a chance it could be on the inner edge of the habitable zone.
Habitability of G V stars of G V stars systems defines the suitability for life of exoplanets belonging to yellow dwarf stars. These systems are the object of study among the scientific community because they are considered the most suitable for harboring living organisms, together with those belonging to K-type stars.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Most biological molecules are made from covalent combinations of six important elements, whose chemical symbols are CHNOPS. ... Although more than 25 types of elements can be found in biomolecules, six elements are most common. These are called the CHNOPS elements; the letters stand for the chemical abbreviations of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur.