Abstract
This chapter gives an overview about planetary habitability, which is based on the assumption that a habitable planet is one that supports liquid water on at least part of its surface. The factors that have kept Earth habitable throughout most of its life are reviewed, as well as those that made present-day Mars and Venus uninhabitable. These serve also as indicators for the expected width of the habitable zone around solar-like stars. The last two sections cover the causes for low abiotic O2 abundances expected in Earth’s early atmosphere, and the (biological) origin of the current high concentrations of O2 and O3. Implications for the detectability of biological activity on extrasolar planets are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Extrasolar Planets |
Subtitle of host publication | XVI Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 217-244 |
Number of pages | 28 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780511536533 |
ISBN (Print) | 0521868084, 9780521868082 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2007 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Physics and Astronomy