Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Mar 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996lpi....27..655k&link_type=abstract
Lunar and Planetary Science, volume 27, page 655
Mathematics
Logic
1
Atmospheres: Planetary, Atmospheric Photochemistry, Ozone, Planets: Habitability, Ultraviolet Radiation
Scientific paper
Climatic constraints on planetary habitability, specifically the requirement of liquid H2O oceans, provide a definition of the habitable zone around main sequence stars with spectral types in the early-F to mid-K range. However, it has not been demonstrated that planets orbiting such stars would have habitable surfaces when biologically-damaging energetic radiation is also considered. The large amounts of ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by early-type stars have been suggested to pose a problem for the evolution of life in their vicinity. It has also been suggested that a significant problem is posed by late-type stars which emit proportionally less radiation at the short wavelengths (lambda < 200 nm) required to photolyze O(sub)2, an essential step in ozone (O(sub)3) formation. The presence of O(sub)3 in a planetary atmosphere is the only shield from UV radiation in the wavelength range 220-320 nm which is capable of inflicting serious damage to organisms on Earth, and presumably elsewhere in the Universe; other components of planetary atmospheres absorb negligibly in this UV range. Here we present detailed calculations of the UV spectrum at the surface of a planet with an Earth-like atmosphere and orbiting three types of main sequence stars, F, G and K within the habitable zone, based on climactic constraints. We conclude that neither of the concerns regarding UV radiation expressed previously should be necessarily fatal to the evolution of advanced life: Earth-like planets orbiting F and K stars are shown to receive less harmful UV radiation at their surfaces than is the case for the Earth.
Kasting James F.
Sheldon William R.
Whittet Doug C. B.
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