Planetary habitability

Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.

Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments that are hospitable to life.^[1]

Planetary Habitability Media

Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.
The moons of some gas giants could potentially be habitable.
Mars, with its rarefied atmosphere, is colder than the Earth would be if it were at a similar distance from the Sun.
Geological cross section of Earth
A visualization showing a simple model of Earth's magnetic field.
The Atacama Desert in South America provides an analog to Mars and an ideal environment to study the boundary between sterility and habitability.
Relative star sizes and photospheric temperatures. Any planet around a red dwarf such as the one shown here (Gliese 229A) would have to huddle close to achieve Earth-like temperatures, probably inducing tidal locking. See Aurelia. Credit: MPIA/V. Joergens.
An artist's impression of GJ 667 Cc, a potentially habitable planet orbiting a red dwarf constituent in a trinary star system.