Everything about Habitable zone
Orbits where planets may have liquid surface water
In astronomy and astrobiology, the habitable zone (HZ), also known as the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), or as the Goldilocks zone, is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface could potentially support liquid water. Liquid water is considered by many scientists as necessary for a planet to be habitable. The range depends upon the brightness of the star interacting with a planet's atmosphere. At the inner edge the star's light, trapped by greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere, boils off the planet's water. At the outer edge light from the star is insufficient even with help from atmospheric gas and the planet's water freezes. Many other factors are added in various habitable zone models. The habitable zone has become a key tool in the search for habitable planets because discoveries of exoplanets yield approximate orbital radii. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Habitable zoneA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Exoplanet LHS 1140 b with JWST/NIRISSInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Building height, bulk, and formThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Habitable Zones around Main Sequence StarsCited 2,104 times
- Go sideways: Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systemsA closely related topic
- Go sideways: List of potentially habitable exoplanetsA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun The zone around a star where a planet could experience temperatures like those on Earth, allowing for the possible existence of liquid water and of life.
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Habitable Zones around Main Sequence Stars
HABITABLE ZONES AROUND MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS: NEW ESTIMATES
HYDROGEN GREENHOUSE PLANETS BEYOND THE HABITABLE ZONE
Habitable Zone Limits for Dry Planets
ABIOTIC OXYGEN-DOMINATED ATMOSPHERES ON TERRESTRIAL HABITABLE ZONE PLANETS
The Galactic Habitable Zone: Galactic Chemical Evolution
A CATALOG OF KEPLER HABITABLE ZONE EXOPLANET CANDIDATES
Volatile-rich Earth-Mass Planets in the Habitable Zone
🆕 Influential since 2022
Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Exoplanet LHS 1140 b with JWST/NIRISS
A Catalog of Habitable Zone Exoplanets
Methane as a dominant absorber in the habitable-zone sub-Neptune K2-18 b
The Demographics of Kepler's Earths and Super-Earths into the Habitable Zone
The ultraviolet habitable zone of exoplanets
📚 Books worth reading
Building height, bulk, and formGeorge B. Ford · 1931- 📕Dividing large houses : a solution for affordability and maintenance : [case study] =Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. · 1995
- 📕San Francisco Bay area local development policy surveyAssociation of Bay Area Governments · 1994
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systems K-type main-sequence stars, also known as orange dwarfs or Goldilocks stars, may be candidates for supporting extraterrestrial life. Due to their smaller…
- List of potentially habitable exoplanets The following list includes potentially habitable exoplanets. It is mostly based on estimates of habitability by the Habitable Worlds Catalog (HWC), and…
- Kepler-62f Kepler-62f (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.04) is a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the orange…
- Exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and…
- Exomoon An exomoon or extrasolar moon is a natural satellite that orbits an exoplanet or other non-stellar extrasolar body. Exomoons are difficult to detect and…
- Habitability of natural satellites The habitability of natural satellites is the potential of moons to provide habitats for life. Natural satellites are expected to outnumber planets by…
- Discoveries of exoplanets An exoplanet (extrasolar planet) is a planet located outside the Solar System. The first evidence of an exoplanet was noted as early as 1917, but was not…
- Habitability of red dwarf systems The theorized habitability of red dwarf systems is determined by factors including tidal effects, flaring, and variability. Modern evidence suggests that…