Habitable zones around low mass stars and the search for extraterrestrial life

James F. Kasting

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

Habitable planets are likely to exist around stars not too different from the Sun if current theories about terrestrial climate evolution are correct. Some of these planets may have evolved life, and some of the inhabited planets may have evolved O2-rich atmospheres. Such atmospheres could be detected spectroscopically on planets around nearby stars using a space-based interferometer to search for the 9.6μm band of O3. Planets with O2-rich atmospheres that lie within the habitable zone around their parent star are, in all probability, inhabited.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)291-307
Number of pages17
JournalOrigins of life and evolution of the biosphere
Volume27
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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