Earth a Goldilocks plantet
Here is the second module about earth being a Goldilocks planet.
Keep the story of Goldilocks and the three bears in mind while you read it. It will make more sense in a minute (I promise)
Well what is a Goldilocks planet you may ask, read the abstract to find out, and keep reading to know more about it :)
Abstract
Earths position and distance from the sun allows it to be a Goldilocks planet, this term is derived from the story of Goldilocks and how the temperature is just right. Earth is in the Goldilocks zone which is the perfect distance from the sun and the suns radiated heat making the temperature on earth just right for life to be sustained. This perfect temperature also allows the necessities that are needed to sustain life, such as water to be in a liquid state. The way in which planets form, such as earth and Jupiter has to do with solar nebular theory, the creation of the solar nebula and it rotation makes particles collide and form masses, these masses can latter become planeteimals and then protoplanet’s, this is done through the collision and accretion of masses. Earths formation is different from that of Jupiter’s, the largest Jovian planet as well as a gas giant, in many ways, their distance from the center of the solar system is what made the planets form in different ways.
Keywords: Goldilocks planet, protoplanet, nebular theory, collision, planiteimals, accretion, gas giant, terrestrial, gravitation, solar system, atmosphere, evolution, solar winds, Kepler
Earth a Goldilocks Planet
Solar Nebular theory has five stages, when the Milky Way galaxy first formed its “high temperature gas ball collaps[ed]” and then began to heat up and create a disk shape (VSGC). After this initial stage the disk began spinning at an increasingly fast velocity and this caused the overall temperature to decrease. The disk then became a “sphere due to rotation, because of fast rotation, some of the fog from gas ball mass excape[d]” (VSGC). Next the condensation of fog began and created a “core of the largest mass in the middle, while the small part formed around cooling processes” (VSGC). The initial distance from the center mass is what makes the different planets form, the particles that are found within different distances of the core collide and “smaller masses turn into planets while most of the remains in a state of high temperature flare and are called the sun”, this is a process called accretion, the process of collision and accretion continually increased the sizes of different floating masses until large enough masses formed planets that had their own gravitation force that altered the pull of objects around them(VSGC).
The earths formation was among the first formation of protoplanet’s, this occurred after repeated collisions and accretion. In the more distant reaches of the solar system where the temperature is much lower very large protoplanet’s formed and began to “sweep up other protoplanets, planeteimals, and nebular gases” this is what caused the large gas giant and largest Jovian planet, Jupiter, to form as well as Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune(VSGC). Since planet earth is closer to the center of our solar system, within the Goldilocks zone, the densest particles during the creation of our galaxy were found near the center of the galaxy, due to gravitational forces holding them closer to the center, because of this earth’s internal structure is much denser since denser materials collided and accreted together to form it. “Terrestrial planets have a solid and dynamic surface of mountains, valleys, canyons, plains” and numerous other things; earths terrestrial formation can be attributed to the dense materials that were found in the center of the solar nebula during the formation of earth (VSGC). Jupiter’s structure varies from earth since it is farther away, therefore when it initially formed in the outer solar nebula there were not as many dense particles for its planetesimal to collide with therefore it is largely made up of gases. Since Jupiter is made up primarily of gas, and gases density is much less compared to solid objects, Jupiter density in relation to earth is much less.
Atmospheric Composition
Jupiter and Earths atmospheric composition are very different from one another, Jupiter’s atmosphere is primarily made up of hydrogen (H2) and helium (He) while Earth’s is “made up of 78 percent nitrogen (N2), 21 percent oxygen (O2) and 1 percent other ingredients”(VSGC). The Jovian planet Jupiter is a gas giant since it is the largest planet in our galaxy and is made primarily out of gas. Since earth is a terrestrial planet its atmospheric composition is much more complex since it has different land formations, the presence of water, and life forms that all contribute to its composition.
Water presence. Earth’s surface is terrestrial, but unlike other terrestrial planets it has oceans, “70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in oceans” (VSGC). Jupiter, being a gas planet does not have water, the planets composition is similar to that of a star. Water on earth is one of the elements that makes life possible on our planet, Jupiter does not have water therefore it cannot sustain life as well as it is not a terrestrial planet and does not have the other necessities that are needed to sustain life forms of any kind.
Location Sun. The sun is at the center of the solar system; the distance that each planet is from this particular point in the solar system determines how the planet evolves. Since earth is in the Goldilocks zone where the suns radiated heat and temperature is just right, not to hot or too cold, earth was able to have different formations due to the temperature not being too extreme in either direction on the heat spectrum. The earth has an idyllic temperature for life to be sustained; life forms have in many ways changed the way that the earth has changed within the past few centuries. The Suns effect on the evolution of Jupiter is very different from its effect on earth’s evolution, Jupiter’s formation was aided by the Sun’s solar winds, which “pushed volatiles out of the inner solar system” this is how Jupiter’s theorized core was made(VSGC ).
Carbon presence Earth contains carbon in many different forms, it is commonly found within the atmosphere. Carbon is an important element, and is vital to life forms due to its paramount role in the formation of molecules that are needed for life. Most living things have carbon, without it life would be impossible, this is one of the reasons Jupiter is unable to sustain life.
Goldilocks A Goldilocks planet, like earth, is a planet that is just right and suitable for life. The zone in which earth resides within our solar systems is the perfect distance from the sun to where water is able to be in several different stages, liquid, solid, and vapor, with this information it is inferred that life is sustainable in such a planet as our own. The goal of the Kepler mission is to find other planets that can sustain life, also known as a Goldilocks planet. The mission’s name, Kepler, is actually one of the planets that was found that is a type of Goldilocks planet. Kepler’s search for Goldilocks planets is ongoing and is said to likely find a Goldilocks planet that is relatively close to earth within the decade. All of the planets that seem to fit the Goldilocks profile, including Kepler are hundreds if not millions of light years away allowing little research to be conducted on the planet.
