From: Kevin Freels (megaquark@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2003 - 17:32:32 MDT
I was reading my iuniverse newsletter and there was an article about searching for life on other planets. It was mentioned that the habitable zone may be a bit larger than previously believed and that larger, shorter-lived stars could also make decent candidates for life-supporting solar systems.
One of the pre-requisites they seem to be searching for are planets that exist in a "zone" where there could be liquid water.
Now I am not a physicist, but doesn't the fluidity of water depend on more than jus tthe distance from it's star and the heat from it? Wouldn't the composition of the atmosphere determine just how much heat is generated by the star? Then there are the reflectivity of the surface, internal heat, gravity and air pressure. Depending on the composition of the planet, couldn't a large planet a long distance from it's star still maintain liquid water? Wouldn't a planet with very little or no greenhouse gasses, little internal heat, and a highly reflective surface be able to sustain liquid water in an orbit much closer than ours? We wouldn't have any liquid water where we are without our greenhouse gasses and/or with a much higher air pressure.
It seems to me that the people conducting these searches are limiting themselves by putting a "habital" zone around a star.
Anyways, am I way off here? I was just curious and I thought someone here might know a bit more about this than I.
Thanks!
With kindest regards,
Kevin D. Freels
Carteret Mortgage Corporation
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