UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 45 of 98

UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Goldilocks Zone

The term 'Goldilocks Zone' is often seen in the news in the context of

  1. the limits of habitable zone above the surface of the Earth
  2. regions inside the Earth where shale gas is available
  3. search for the Earth-like planets in outer space
  4. search for meteorites containing precious metals
Show answer

Answer: C. search for the Earth-like planets in outer space

Verdict

The answer is the search for Earth-like planets in outer space. The Goldilocks Zone is the habitable zone around a star.

Analysis

The term describes the orbital band around a star where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to persist on a planet's surface, which is the primary criterion astronomers use in screening exoplanets for habitability. The reference is to the fairy tale in which the porridge must be just right. The other three options place the term above the Earth's surface, inside the Earth and among meteorites, none of which involves the star and orbit relationship the concept requires.

Source

The Hindu report on eight new planets found in the Goldilocks Zone.

How to crack it

Scientific nicknames drawn from popular culture almost always encode their meaning, so unpack the story before recalling the science. Goldilocks means just right, which implies a middle band between two extremes, and among the options only the habitable orbital zone is a middle band of that kind. The same decoding works for terms such as the God particle and dark matter. Where a term is a metaphor, read the metaphor first.

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