Eli5 How do scientists calculate the “habitable zone” of a solar system, both in ours and other systems?

181 views

What kind of factors go into a calculation like this?

In: 2

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s an estimate of where water could exist in a liquid state on a planet’s surface.

That’s all it’s about. It’s not actually considering any factors for habitability other than “could water exist there”. It’s not even “does water exist there”, just whether it could.

How you calculate that can vary a lot, because things like the planet’s atmosphere and size and composition can change its surface temperature a lot. This is why estimates vary quite a bit, there are many different ways you could account for these other factors.

You are viewing 1 out of 5 answers, click here to view all answers.