52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2021 (LPI Contrib. No. 2548) 2327.pdf THE OCCURRENCE OF PLANETS IN THE ABIOGENESIS ZONE. M. Jusino1 , J. Colón2 , and A. Méndez3, 1Planetary Habitability Laboratory at University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo (
[email protected]), 2Planetary Habitability Laboratory at University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo (
[email protected]), 3Planetary Habitability La- boratory at University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo (
[email protected]) Introduction: Precursor molecules to the building A weakly reduced atmosphere with a plausible compo- blocks of life such as ribonucleotides, amino acids and sition of , , , and , as speculated to have lipids could have been produced in an early, prebiotic had existed in prebiotic times between 3.8 and 3.5 Ga Earth in which ultraviolet radiation induced the activa- [6], is essential for the photochemical reactions to oc- tion energy required to trigger photochemical reac- cur, since UV radiation at its critical wavelength range tions. For planets to be able to host these photochemi- is weakened in present-day Earth’s atmosphere. cal reactions and possibly originate life, they must be Calculations done in our project suggest that there able to maintain liquid surface water. Therefore, plan- is a proportional relation between the mass and effec- ets must be orbiting within the Habitable Zone, which tive temperature of the star and the exterior limit of is generally defined as the area around a star in which a their Abiogenesis Zone. The lower the mass of the star, planet with an atmosphere could sustain surface liquid the smaller the radius of the zone’s exterior limit water [1].