We make a preliminary assessment on the habitability of potential rocky exoplanets around Alpha Centauri B. We use several indexes: the Earth Similarity Index, a mathematical model for photosynthesis, and […]
habitable
Posted inHabitable Zones
Superhabitable Worlds
To be habitable, a world (planet or moon) does not need to be located in the stellar habitable zone (HZ), and worlds in the HZ are not necessarily habitable. Here, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Habitable Zones with Stable Orbits for Planets around Binary Systems
A general formulation to compute habitable zones for binary stars is presented. We extend the simple formulation of the known concept: {\it circumstellar habitable zone} for single stars, to the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Possible Climates on Terrestrial Exoplanets
What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
On the Radius of Habitable Planets
The conditions that a planet must fulfill to be habitable are not precisely known. However, it is comparatively easier to define conditions under which a planet is very likely not […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Microlensing Discovers Extrasolar Planet in Habitable Zone
We used Keck adaptive optics observations to identify the first planet discovered by microlensing to lie in or near the habitable zone. The planet is at projected separation $r_\perp=1.1\pm 0.1\,$AU […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Magnetic Shielding of Exomoons Beyond the Circumplanetary Habitable Edge
With most planets and planetary candidates detected in the stellar habitable zone being super-Earths and gas giants, rather than Earth-like planets, we naturally wonder if their moons could be habitable. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Kepler: Searching The Habitable Zones of the Brightest Stars
In today’s mailing, Hogg et al. propose image modeling techniques to maintain 10-ppm-level precision photometry in Kepler data with only two working reaction wheels. While these results are relevant to […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Detecting Bio-markers in Habitable-zone Earths Transiting White Dwarfs
The characterization of the atmospheres of habitable-zone Earth-mass exoplanets that transit across main-sequence stars, let alone the detection of bio-markers in their atmospheres, will be challenging even with future facilities. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
The Habitable Real Estate of our Nearest Stellar Neighbors
We use the sample of known stars and brown dwarfs within 5 pc of the Sun, supplemented with AFGK stars within 10 pc, to determine which stellar spectral types provide […]