Certificate of Achievement
has completed the following course:
What does a world need to be habitable for life? This course considered what life is and its place in the Universe, and how this has allowed life to arise and persist on the Earth for billions of years. It covered topics including habitability, galactic habitable zones, maintaining habitability, the greenhouse effect, plate tectonics, the Moon, uninhabited habitats, extremophiles, and planetary analogues.
3 weeks, 3 hours per week
Louisa Preston
Astrobiologist, geologist, author and UK Space Agency Research Fellow
FutureLearn
Transcript
Learning outcomes
- Explain how 'habitability' is not a fixed concept
- Recognise and classify different galaxies in the Universe
- Describe how the Earth has managed to maintain its habitability whilst other planets have not
- Summarise how the Earth maintains its temperature
- Describe the link between plate tectonics and life
- Explain the impact of having a moon on life on Earth
- Recognise that places capable of supporting life do not always have life
- Investigate extremophiles and their life on earth
- Explain the importance of planetary analogues in astrobiology
Syllabus
Week 1: Habitable vs Habitability
- What do we mean by habitability?
- Galactic habitable zones
- Maintaining habitability for life
Week 2: What makes Earth so special?
- The greenhouse effect
- Plate tectonics
- The Moon
Week 3: Alien worlds on Earth
- Uninhabited habitats
- Extremophiles
- Planetary analogues
Issued on 10th November 2024
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