Planet Earth is situated in what astronomers call the Goldilocks Zone--a sweet spot in a solar system where a planet's surface temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. An ideal distance from a home star--in Earth's case, the sun - this habitable zone, as it is also known, creates optimal conditions that prevent water from freezing and generating a global icehouse or evaporating into space and creating a runaway greenhouse.
The planetary sweet spot: Abundance of elements in the Earth dictate whether plate tectonics can happen
Phys.org - 20 Jul 2015 20:34
Planet Earth is situated in what astronomers call the Goldilocks Zone--a sweet spot in a solar system where a planet's surface temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. An ideal distance from a home star--in Earth's case, the sun - this habitable zone, as it is also known, creates optimal conditions that prevent water from freezing and generating a global icehouse or evaporating into space and creating a runaway greenhouse.
Share this Article
Recommended