A5 1 Habitable Zones in the Extreme Environments of Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

We investigate the plausibility of habitable planets orbiting Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Using a simplified model, we estimate the location of a habitable zone around a low-mass SMBH of 1.6×10^5 M⊙ , where conditions may allow liquid water to exist on a planetary surface. By calculating orbital distances that would result in temperatures conducive to habitability, we demonstrate that under certain optimistic assumptions, planets could maintain life-sustaining conditions in the extreme environment near an AGN.