Astr 202 Laboratory on

The Ecospheres of Stars

1. Background Information
One of the key conditions for life to originate and sustain itself is the temperature within the
environment it finds itself. For life on the surface of a world this is set to a large degree by the
distance of the planet from its star. A star’s ecosphere – the zone in which planets must lie to
provide a temperature range suitable for life as we know it
– depends on the luminosity of the star (see Figure 1). Living
cells have been found in hot springs close to the boiling
point of water (373 K). Similarly, life has been found at near
freezing temperatures (273K). Let’s take this range of
temperatures, 273K to 373K, as the one suitable for life. A
very luminous star will harbor a thicker ecosphere located
further out than the ecosphere of a lower luminosity star,
which will be thinner and located closer to the parent star.
An airless planet at a distance, d , from a star with a Figure 1. Ecosphere of a Star
luminosity, L , will have a surface temperature given by,
1
 L 4
T  279  2  Eq. (1)
 d 
where,
T  temperature on surface of planer (K)
L  luminosity of star in units of solar luminosity ( L )
d  distance from the star in astronomical units (AU)

Rearranging the above equation to solve for d , we find

1 1
L2 L2
d  279 2  7.78104 2 . Eq. (2)
2

T T
By substituting in the boiling and freezing points of water, expressions for dinner and d outer can be derived.
1
dinner  0.56 L2
1
Eq. (3)
d outer  1.04 L
2

Substitution of L  1 for our sun yields values of dinner  0.56 AU and d outer  1.04 AU. These values
suggests that if it were not for the runaway greenhouse effect, conditions on the surface of Venus (at a
distance from the Sun of 0.7AU) could be conducive to life. Also, interestingly, we see that the Earth is
just barely inside the outer boundary of the Sun’s ecosphere. Indeed, if it were not for a modest
greenhouse effect, the Earth’s surface would be largely frozen, making the origin and evolution of life on
Earth far more problematic.
Our species took ~4.7 billion years to evolve on the Earth. Assuming this is the norm, for a star to be
considered a “good star”, it should have a lifetime, tlife , similar to that of our Sun, ~10 billion years. The
more luminous a star is, the faster it burns through its supply of fuel. For main sequence stars, i.e., stars
burning hydrogen into helium in their cores, the following expression can be used.
1
tlife  0.833
Eq. (4)
L
where,
tlife  lifetime of star in units of solar lifetimes (10 billion years)
L  luminosity of star in units of solar luminosity ( L )

Using the above expression, a main sequence star with a luminosity, L , of 0.5 L , would be
expected to live 1.78 times as long as the Sun, or 17.8 billion years. A main sequence star twice as luminous
as the Sun would last about 5.6 billion years.

The mass of a main sequence star can be estimated using the relation,
1
M L 3
Eq. (5)
where,
M  mass of star in units of solar masses ( M  )
L  luminosity of star in units of solar luminosity ( L )
Therefore, a star with a luminosity, L , of 0.5 L , would have a mass of 0.79 M  and a star with a
luminosity twice that of the Sun would be 1.26 M  .

From these results, it would appear the range of mass and luminosity over which a star is good
for harboring a planet suitable for the origin and evolution of intelligent life is fairly narrow.

2. Questions
You may choose to have a partner on this lab. Each person is responsible for turning in their
own version of the lab, including Figure 3. Please provide the name of your partner, if there is
one.

A) An H-R (Hertzsprung-Russell) diagram is a plot relating the temperature and spectral class of
stars to their luminosity. An H-R diagram of a number of nearby stars is shown in Figure 2.
Note that most stars cluster along an imaginary line that runs from the top left of the diagram
to the bottom right. This imaginary line is referred to as the main sequence. As mentioned
earlier, stars that fall on the main sequence get their energy by fusing hydrogen into helium
in their cores. Stars spend most of their lives on the main sequence, that’s why you see so
 many stars located along it. Using the attached H-R diagram, estimate the luminosity of each
filled in star. List the star number, spectral type, and luminosity in Table 1.
B) Now, using the equations discussed above, complete Table 1 for the 8 filled in stars.
C) On Figure 3, “The Ecosphere Size or Lifetime vs. Spectral Type”,
i. Plot the spectral type vs. d outer  dinner in units of AU for all 8 stars. Use circles to plot
points and connect them with a line.
ii. Plot spectral type vs. lifetime of the star in years for all 8 stars. Use squares to plot
points and connect them with a line.
D) Examining Figure 3, write a few sentences describing which spectral type(s) are optimal for
finding planets around a star with intelligent life.
 Table 1: Ecospheres of Stars Lab
Star Spectral Luminosity Mass dinner d outer d outer  dinner Lifetime
Name Type ( L ) ( M ) (AU) (AU) (AU) (years)
1 B0 8x105
92 500 930 430 1.2x105
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
 Spectral Class

Luminosity (Lsun)

Surface Temperature (Kelvins)

Fig. 2: The HR Diagram

 Spectral Class

douter – dinner (AU)

Lifetime (years)
Surface Temperature (Kelvins)

Fig. 3: Ecosphere Size or Lifetime vs. Spectral Type Diagram