Terra's Big Neighbor

[radtech497]

Next issue: temperature control for an Earth-like ecology. I suppose you'd want higher albedo and a lower greenhouse effect, which means...less water coverage? More clouds? Somewhat thinner atmosphere?

An Earthlike albedo of 0.294 gives an equilibrium temperature of 300 Kelvin. An Earthlike atmosphere raises that to give a surface temperature of 334 Kelvin (warm but still able to support at least some forms of Terran life); this higher temperature results in a higher water vapor content (more clouds, which increases the global albedo, cooling the planet). Result? A warm, humid world, possibly covered in tropical vegetation.