General Astronomy

Astronomers have recently found 60 planets orbiting their stars within a zone that may make them habitable. Choose one of these candidates and present an argument as to whether or not it is possible that life exists on the planet’s surface, in its atmosphere, or on a moon that may be circling it. In your discussion, take into consideration factors such as temperature, atmosphere, and a liquid medium to evolve in. Specifically consider the length of its year its temperature whether or not it is tidally locked to the star, and if so the effect of atmospheric circulation on habitability the escape velocity from the planet's surface given its its radius R its mass M (derived from R3 using Earth's or Jupiter's density) the average molecular velocity of various gasses given the planet's equilibrium temperature1 as listed or inferred from the energy the planet receives from this star given its luminosity and the distance the planet is from the star and the reflectivity (albedo) of the planet the lifetime of evolution relative to the lifetime of the habitable zone UV radiation given the stellar type (derived from the given temperature)