The movie Interstellar is based on the premise of trying to find another habitab
ID: 1543678 • Letter: T
Question
The movie Interstellar is based on the premise of trying to find another habitable planet after ours has become inhabitable. From the knowledge you have gained from this class, discuss the following:
What aspects of this new planet would you look for to ensure the survivability of our species? Some of the specifics you may want to discuss are:
Size and age of the planet
Atmosphere of the planet
The distance of the planet to its Sun
The type of Sun the planet orbits
Oceans of the planet
Any life that may already be on this planet
Moons of this planet
Explanation / Answer
Answer:
There are some needs to be fulfilled by a planet to make it habitable. Some specific aspects of the planet to ensure survivability of our species are as follows;
(a) The planet should lie in the habitable zone (HZ) of its solar system. Habitable zone is the distance from a star where planets can maintain liquid water on its surface to create life. This planet (also called a Goldilock planet, named as is in goldilock zone) shouldn't be too close, or too far from the star around which it revolves, which makes the species get suffiecient sunlight for life, and also protects them from harmful shorter wavelength rays like UV rays that dies out before reaching the planet.
(b) The galactic environment of the planet is also key to habitability. The planet shouldn't be in a globular cluster, or near an active gamma ray source, which causes huge radiation, and gravitational impact on its habitability. The planet can't also be in the active gallactic region, i.e. near the galactic center.
(c) The star around which the planet revolves should be relatively stable in luminosity i.e. have less fluctuations.
(d) The mass of the planet should not be very low, as low mass planets have less gravity pull, and a larger surface to volume ratio, that can't hold the atmosphere, and gas molecules leave to space, which makes direct penetration of the sunlight, causes high temperature inside the planet, and makes it in-habitat. Planets comparable in size and mass to earth have moderate surface to volume ratio, and hold a thick atmosphere that protects the planets surface from harmful radiations.
(e) One of the main factors is the environment of the planet. The planet mostly should have temperature range of -10 to 120 degree celsius which is favorable for keeping water in liquid state, and the surface should be wet i.e. water should be available regularly in all conditions.
(f) The atmosphere as already stated should be thick around 100-120 miles, and surround the surface of the planet. This keeps the surfce of the planet, and hence the species protective from the harmful shorter wavelength rays, like UV radiation etc.
(g) All required nutrients should be present in the planet, which helps do the chemical process in species to retain habitability. A necessary water cycle should have to be there, which maintains an equilibrium both in temperature, and in the liquid (water) content of the surface. As water (liquid to keep the surface wet) plays a vital role in habitability, so more than half of the planets surface must be covered with oceans. These oceans also maintain the temperature of the surrounding regions by heat transfer (convection).
(h) The moons of the planet should be in close proximity than the distance of the planet to its sun. The chemical composition of the moon must be a lot similar to that of the planet around which it is orbiting.
(i) So, in summary, for ensuring survivability of species, "a planet should have mass, and size almost comparable to earth, have a limited temperature range, quite a bit thick surrounding atmosphere, most importantly possess water, have a rich mineral, and nutrient content; orbit, staying in the habitable zone (HZ), around a star (its sun) which should be a stable luminous energy source, and have moons with similar chemical environment."