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=== Habitability === {{Main|Planetary habitability in the Solar System}} {{Multiple image|perrow = 1|total_width = 350 | direction = vertical <!--image 1--> | image1 = PIA21424 - The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Zone.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Comparison of the habitable zones of the Solar System and [[TRAPPIST-1]], an ultracool red dwarf star known to have seven terrestrial planets in stable orbits around the star. <!--image 2--> | image2 = Diagram of different habitable zone regions by Chester Harman.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = Comparison of the [[habitable zone]]s for different stellar temperatures, with a sample of known exoplanets plus the Earth, Mars, and Venus. From top to bottom are an [[F-type main-sequence star]], a [[G-type main-sequence star|yellow dwarf]] (G-type main-sequence star), an [[orange dwarf]] (K-type main-sequence star), a typical [[red dwarf]], and an [[ultra-cool dwarf]]. }} Besides solar energy, the primary characteristic of the Solar System enabling the presence of life is the heliosphere and planetary magnetic fields (for those planets that have them). These magnetic fields partially shield the Solar System from high-energy interstellar particles called [[cosmic ray]]s. The density of cosmic rays in the [[interstellar medium]] and the strength of the Sun's magnetic field change on very long timescales, so the level of cosmic-ray penetration in the Solar System varies, though by how much is unknown.<ref name="Langner_et_al_2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Langner |first1=U. W. |last2=Potgieter |first2=M. S. |date=2005 |title=Effects of the position of the solar wind termination shock and the heliopause on the heliospheric modulation of cosmic rays |journal=[[Advances in Space Research]] |volume=35 |issue=12 |pages=2084β2090 |bibcode=2005AdSpR..35.2084L |doi=10.1016/j.asr.2004.12.005}}</ref> The [[Circumstellar habitable zone|zone of habitability]] of the Solar System is conventionally located in the inner Solar System, where planetary surface or atmospheric temperatures admit the possibility of [[liquid water]].<ref name="NASA-20150407">{{Cite web |last1=Dyches |first1=Preston |last2=Chou |first2=Felcia |date=7 April 2015 |title=The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water |url=http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/the-solar-system-and-beyond-is-awash-in-water |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410113514/http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/the-solar-system-and-beyond-is-awash-in-water/ |archive-date=10 April 2015 |access-date=8 April 2015 |website=[[NASA]]}}</ref> Habitability might be possible in [[subsurface ocean]]s of various outer Solar System moons.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Robert T. Pappalardo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jpcz2UoXejgC |title=Europa |last2=William B. McKinnon |last3=K. Khurana |publisher=University of Arizona Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8165-2844-8 |page=658 |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406102731/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jpcz2UoXejgC |url-status=live }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=Jpcz2UoXejgC&pg=PA658 Extract of page 658] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415082720/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jpcz2UoXejgC&pg=PA658 |date=15 April 2023 }}</ref>
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