What Is the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ Where Planets Could Support Life?

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19 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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The ‘habitable zone’, also known as the ‘Goldilocks zone’, is the area around a star where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist on a rocky planet. It’s not too hot, not too cold. It is also key in the hunt for alien life, given that water is deemed necessary for life as we know it to evolve. This belt serves as a cosy home for our oceans, rivulets, and lakes in liquid form, thanks to Earth’s placement within this zone. The discovery of other planets that orbit in this habitable zone, particularly ones that are made out of rock, is currently a high priority across the planet-searching community.

NASA Explains the Goldilocks Zone: Where Planets Can Sustain Liquid Water and Life

As per NASA explanations, if Earth were shifted higher and closer in the solar system where Mercury is, surface water would start to evaporate, eventually boiling away into a steam-heavy atmosphere. If we took the Earth out to Pluto, by contrast, a permanent deep freeze would turn oceans and much of the atmosphere solid. This zone lies at the not-too-cold, not-too-hot region around a star where it receives enough stellar energy to keep water in its liquid state without causing it all to evaporate in endless heat or freeze into unyielding ice — a width that extends outward or inward depending on the size and heat output of the star.

Goldilocks Zones: Actually, this is more commonly known as a Habitable Zone. And, of course, where exactly that is depends on what kind of star you mean — cool, low-luminosity stars live much closer to the Sun and at lower temperatures; hot, high-luminosity stars shove that zone way out. A team of scientists is on the hunt for authentic exoplanets in this region.

Water is important for life on Earth and natural cosmetics. Subglacial systems influence climate and geological processes. Water signatures are important atmospheric features for exoplanet-watchers, influencing habitable assessment.

In the future, missions will search for exoplanet atmospheres and examine “biosignature” and biosphere signatures — possibly from plants — to see if life exists on habitable worlds.

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Perseid Meteor Shower 2025 to Dazzle Night Sky in August

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2 hours ago

August 13, 2025

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The Perseid meteor shower, one of the year’s most anticipated celestial events, will peak on the night of August 12–13, 2025. At its height, the shower can produce up to 100 meteors per hour, though the glare of an 86% waning gibbous moon will make spotting faint streaks difficult. Observers can still expect to see the brightest meteors and occasional fireballs, e…

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Raphael Domjan Soars to 8,224 Meters in SolarStratos

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18 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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Raphael Domjan Soars to 8,224 Meters in SolarStratos

Raphael Domjan, Swiss Aviator, came close to reaching the distance of a world record while flying a solar Stratos plane on Sunday. He departed from Sion Airport in Southwestern Switzerland, reaching an altitude of 8224 meters; it lasted for four hours. Domjan, tagged as an eco-explorer for his aviation focus, and is known for his eco-friendly ambitions. According to him, achieving a height of more than 10,000 meters is still a dream for him to come true soon, hopefully.

Raphael Domjan Sets New SolarStratos Altitude Record

As per TechExplore, In 2010, Andre Borschberg set the record for the highest flight in a solar plane for 9,235 meters as a Swiss pilot flying the Solar Impulse. Domjan won’t just break the record of Borschberg but also intends to fly to the same altitude just like commercial jets. The challenge is as important as Solar Stratos has a boundary on the altitude that it can reach and while relying on solar power only.

The Road to 10,000 Meters: A Green Aviation Dream

Prior to this attempt, Domjan completed a practice flight on July 31, reaching an altitude of 6,589 meters, which was a record for the SolarStratos. Last Friday, he attempted a flight, but the thermals which usually aid in altitude gain were absent. He decided to turn back to conserve battery power for future attempts.

Earlier this week, conditions proved more favorable, leading to a new record altitude for the SolarStratos. As an innovation, the plane has solar panels on its 24.8-meter wings, which power its batteries. During the flight’s solar charging cycle, the plane’s batteries will automatically recharge to full. Domjan and his team are preparing for the next record attempt to make sure it will be a guaranteed success.

Asked about the 10,000 meter target, Domjan believes it is a target which will be achieved only by relentless attempts. For him, it is about the achievement, and an achievement only possible through determination and resilience on the aviations of the future as a green revolution.

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Singapore Researchers Build Maple Seed Drone with Record 26-Minute Flight

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19 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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Singapore Researchers Build Maple Seed Drone with Record 26-Minute Flight

A flying robot inspired by the anatomy of a maple seed, samaras, was developed by researchers of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). This new monocopter, besides flying much longer than other drones of its size, proves its superiority by running on a single rotor for 26 minutes. This feat is a marked achievement, proving the goals of SUTD’s associate professor Foong Shaohui, who built a 50 minute flying drone for Singapore’s 50 year anniversary. Now, the focus shifts to efficiency in smaller designs.

Nature-Inspired Design Brings Breakthrough in Small Drone Efficiency

According to Techxplore, Nature proves to be the ultimate guide for the SUTD team, as they had previously designed quadcopters with no external help. In the case of maple seeds that spin and gently fall to the ground creating lift, the team built a singular powered wing monocopter. This improvement, while simple, also greatly enhances control, efficiency, effectiveness, and reduces weight.

The collective mix of human creativity with AI enabled tools to further enhance the designs fuel origami’s makes the monocopter a success. AI enabled tools allowed the team to simulate various shapes, angles, and weight before creating the final prototype. As a result, the team had a drone that is 32 grams while retaining the ability to endure more than other drones.

From 10-Year Challenge to Record-Breaking Maple Seed Monocopter

This small monocopter could be extremely beneficial for low-cost, long-duration missions. An example mission could be to transport instruments for measuring meteorological conditions. Taking home the Sustainability Winner award at the 2024 Dyson Awards felt like a decisive victory for monocopter, underscoring its potential for environmental monitoring missions. Now refinement efforts will target a larger payload, longer endurance, and extended range, all without adding weight.

The achievement shows the ten years of steady progress, which started from the SG50 quadcopter and evolved into the SG60 monocopter. It is planned for rollout during the 60th birthday of Singapore festivities. It has been guided by advanced engineering, insights from nature and on-board AI from the team has demonstrated the practical versatility and impressive performance of compact flying robots.