08-08-2014, 10:43 AM
Alright, so let's narrow this down and get a habitable planet in or about Venus's location. I'm not actually after a retro-scifi swampy Venus. I'd prefer it to have a diverse range of terrain like Earth. And the "bigger than Earth" part can go if it's a problem.
I've been looking into "Habitable Zone Limits for Dry Plants" by Abe et al and "Towards the Minimum Inner Edge Distance of the Habitable Zone" by Zsom et al. Venus's 0.723AU is a bit close, especially for very Earth-like planets. So, how does the following combination of planetary characteristics work for Earth-like habitability, not to mention bothering Earth's orbit?
1) 0.8AU orbit. That cuts illumination to 82% of Venus. (Feel free to move it a bit to avoid a resonance with Earth. The further out, the better.)
2) Near-0 tilt. That should give larger ice caps and higher albedo, and help cool temperate latitudes.
3) Equatorial desert continents help raise albedo (see "...Dry Planets"), though you don't want to block ocean circulation.
4) Higher temperatures should generate more cloud cover.
5) 0.8-bar atmospheric pressure should lower the greenhouse effect.
6) Fast rotator like Earth. Call it 28 hours for giggles.
7) It'll probably need a moon to keep a magnetic field and maybe stabilize its tilt.
Could that bring average temperatures below 320K?
I've been looking into "Habitable Zone Limits for Dry Plants" by Abe et al and "Towards the Minimum Inner Edge Distance of the Habitable Zone" by Zsom et al. Venus's 0.723AU is a bit close, especially for very Earth-like planets. So, how does the following combination of planetary characteristics work for Earth-like habitability, not to mention bothering Earth's orbit?
1) 0.8AU orbit. That cuts illumination to 82% of Venus. (Feel free to move it a bit to avoid a resonance with Earth. The further out, the better.)
2) Near-0 tilt. That should give larger ice caps and higher albedo, and help cool temperate latitudes.
3) Equatorial desert continents help raise albedo (see "...Dry Planets"), though you don't want to block ocean circulation.
4) Higher temperatures should generate more cloud cover.
5) 0.8-bar atmospheric pressure should lower the greenhouse effect.
6) Fast rotator like Earth. Call it 28 hours for giggles.
7) It'll probably need a moon to keep a magnetic field and maybe stabilize its tilt.
Could that bring average temperatures below 320K?
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
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"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
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"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama