I think the proper term is circumstellar habitable zone. If there is other life out there, why are we assuming that it’ll have the same basic needs as our animals? The universe is seemingly infinite, and there’s endless possibilities of what’s out there, so why do we only consider planets that are the ‘perfect’ distance away from their star?
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How do we determine what is life? The classic examples are a mule (sterile and does not normally reproduce), a virus, a fire, and a radium clock. Sci-fi is full of examples where life does not meet our preconceived notions, and since we only know about life on earth, everything else is speculation. We look in the Goldilocks zones because that’s what we are familiar understanding. It doesn’t mean we are right, there could be living ion clouds in Jupiter or living rocks here on earth, but it is our best shot at the moment.
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