The habitable zone: The climatic limits of habitability

Abstract

Recent discoveries of exoplanets by both ground-based and space-based surveys indicate that terrestrial-size planets are common around other stars. This raises an intriguing possibility of extraterrestrial life on these planets, which may be detectable with upcoming detailed characterization missions. Consequently, the concept of the habitable zone has been defined to focus the search for life on those planets most likely to be able to sustain liquid water on their surface for extended durations. This chapter addresses the need for such definition, the current stateof-the-art of models that are used to define the habitable zone, and concludes with applications to current and future missions.