The Habitable Zone

Not too hot, not too cold

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Received energy $\propto L/d^2$.
• Brighter stars have farther habitable zones.
• Atmospheres can make or break habitability, as Venus shows.

Steps

1. The Goldilocks zone
2. A brighter star
3. Planet thermostat
4. Red dwarf worlds
5. A bright white star
6. Venus