The liquid water habitable zone (HZ) describes the orbital distance at which a terrestrial planet can maintain above-freezing conditions through regulation by the carbonate-silicate cycle. Recent calculations have suggested that […]
Habitable Zone
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Habitable Zones of Post-Main Sequence Stars
Once a star leaves the main sequence and becomes a red giant, its Habitable Zone (HZ) moves outward, promoting detectable habitable conditions at larger orbital distances. We use a one-dimensional […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Hunting for Hidden Life on Worlds Orbiting Old, Red Stars
All throughout the universe, there are stars in varying phases and ages. Planetary diversity suggests that around other stars, initially frozen worlds could be the size of Earth and provide […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Inner Edge of Habitable Zone For Synchronously Rotating Planets Around Low-mass Stars
Terrestrial planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone of late-K and M-dwarf stars are expected to be in synchronous rotation, as a consequence of strong tidal interactions with […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures
The Longevity of Habitable Planets and the Development of Intelligent life
Why did the emergence of our species require a timescale similar to the entire habitable period of our planet? Our late appearance has previously been interpreted by Carter (2008) as […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Is the Pale Blue Dot Unique?
The next generation of ground and space-based telescopes will image habitable planets around nearby stars. A growing literature describes how to characterize such planets with spectroscopy, but less consideration has […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
A Proposal for Climate Stability on H2-greenhouse Planets
A terrestrial planet in an orbit far outside of the standard habitable zone could maintain surface liquid water as a result of H2-H2 collision-induced absorption by a thick H2 atmosphere. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Which Type of Planets Do We Expect to Observe in the Habitable Zone?
We used a sample of super-Earth-like planets detected by the Doppler spectroscopy and transit techniques to explore the dependence of orbital parameters of the planets on the metallicity of their […]
Posted inExtinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Mini-Neptunes Might Host Life Under Right Conditions
Researchers with the NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Lead Team at the University of Washington have described how mini-Neptune planets could become viable for life around M-Dwarf stars. M-dwarfs […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Using the Fundamental Metallicity Relation to Hunt for the Most Habitable Type of Galaxy
The field of astrobiology has made huge strides in understanding the habitable zones around stars (Stellar Habitable Zones) where life can begin, sustain its existence and evolve into complex forms. […]