Planetary habitability in the Solar System

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/planetary-habitability-in-the-solar-system

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the Goldilocks Zone?It is the area around a star where a planet can keep liquid water on its surface. The Sun’s Goldilocks Zone stretches from Venus to Mars. Planets inside this zone can have temperatures that let water stay liquid.
2. Why is Venus not a good place for life?Venus has a thick carbon‑dioxide atmosphere that traps heat, making its surface hotter than 700 K (427 °C). This runaway greenhouse effect keeps the planet too hot for liquid water and life.

Stellar Habitable Zone: The orbital region around a star where temperatures permit liquid water on a planet's surface.
Runaway Greenhouse Effect: A positive feedback loop where increasing atmospheric temperature leads to more heat trapping.
Tidal Heating: Internal heat generated by gravitational forces from a massive celestial body, crucial for subsurface oceans.