The photo-biophylic character of the Milky Way

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of the Milky Way to support photosynthetic life, examining environmental factors like stellar explosions and questioning the concept of a galactic habitable zone.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of galactic habitability focusing on biofriendly conditions and the impact of stellar events on life emergence and evolution.

Findings

Stellar explosions may influence planetary habitability.

The concept of a galactic habitable zone is highly uncertain.

Life's robustness complicates habitability modeling.

Abstract

It is investigated how biofriendly is the Milky Way for photosynthetic life. Special attention is dedicated to the role of the photobiological regime in the emergence and evolution of this kind of life in terrestrial planets. Following this line, it is investigated the potential role of stellar explosions as a potential environmental perturbation in planets, emphasizing on Earth. The difficulties in modelling the behaviour of stressed biological systems and the robustness of life leads us to conclude the relative arbitrariness of defining a galactic habitable zone with today's limited knowledge on the very possible diverse sets of living creatures.