Two things a scientist would look for to determine if it were a living organism

There are many factors to look for to determine a living organism. such as Nutrition, Reproduction, Sensitivity, Growth, Movement, Respiration, and Excretion.

TBut the most important that you can apply to all living organisms, even viruses are: Reproduction (it use the host to increase their number) and nutrition (it take energy from the host to replicate itself).

Well, both latitude and intensity of light affect temperature because, the higher the light intensity, the higher the temperature and since latitude is the measure of how close you are to the equator, then the closer to the equator you are, the higher the temperature is.