Interstellar Real Estate: Location, Location, LocationDefining the Habitable Zone

What makes Earth the perfect home for life as we know it? Students in this activity

explore the orbital characteristics a planetary home needs to support Earth-like

life forms

NSTA 2002 Presenters:

• Ed Prather, University of Arizona

• Tim Slater, University of Arizona

• Alison Simmerman, Honoka’a Hawaii

• Donna Governor, Brown-Barge MS, Pensacola, FL

What is Astrobiology?

Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. It provides a biological perspective to many areas of NASA research, linking such endeavors as the search for habitable planets, exploration missions to Mars and Europa, efforts to understand the origin of life, and planning for the future of life beyond Earth.

Astrobiology Goals:

Astrobiology addresses three basic questions, which have been asked in some form for generations. Astrobiology is exciting today because we have the technology to begin to answer these fundamental questions:

• How does life begin and develop? • Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? • What is life's future on Earth and beyond?

What’s New in Astrobiology?

Interstellar Real Estate

Part 1 - Exploration

Activity 1:

The Goldilocks Principle

Part 2 -

IntroductionActivity 2: Why is There Abundant Life on Earth?

Activity 3: Defining the Habitable Zone

Activity 4: The Sun is a Star?

Activity 5: Size and Mass are Important!

Part 3 - Application

Activity 6: Recently Discovered New Planets

Activity 7: Marketing Your New Extra-Solar Planet

Activity: Scale Distance Model

Distance in AU’s & Scale Mercury: .39 - 2cm Venus: .72 - 3.6cm Earth: 1 - 5cm Mars: 1.52 - 7.6 cm Jupiter: 5.2 - 26 cm Saturn: 9.54 - 47.7 cm Uranus: 19.2 - 96 cm Neptune: 30 - 150 cm Pluto: 39.5 - 198 cm Habitable Zone: .84 to 1.7 - 4.2 to 8.5 cm

Activity: Stellar Sorting

Sort your star cards by: Distance from Earth TemperatureWhat pattern emerges?Which stars will support

Earth-like life? How is the habitable

zone effected by star type?

Activity: Extra Solar Planets

In addition to having just the right kind of star, a planet must also have just the right mass and be just the right size to support life!

Mass - .5 - 10 Me Radius - .8 - 2.2 Re

Which extra solar planets might be JUST RIGHT?

Implementation

Defining the Habitable Zone

The Sun is a Star?

Stellar Classification

Extra Solar Planets

Interstellar Real Estate

Interstellar Real Estate

Interstellar Real Estate

Interstellar Real Estate

Interstellar Real Estate

Astrobiology in the Classroom

NASA – CERES Project http://btc.montana.

edu/ceres

Montana State University

Preliminary Lessons

• Designer DNA

• Drake Equation

• Extra-Solar Planets

• Extreme Environments

• Habitability Zones

• Mission to Mars

• Rare Earth

• Remote Sensing

• Intergalactic Communication

• Time Scales

On-Line Courses

National Teacher’s Enhancement Network

• Astrobiology for Teachers

Related Courses

• Studying the Universe with Space Observatories

• Comparative Planetology

Interstellar Real Estate