UT: Nailing Down Goldilocks: What's "Just Right"

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bystander
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UT: Nailing Down Goldilocks: What's "Just Right"

Post by bystander » Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:21 pm

Nailing Down Goldilocks: What's "Just Right" for Exo-Earths?
Universe Today - 2010 Feb 24
For Goldilocks, the porridge had to be not too hot, and not too cold … the right temperature was all she needed.

For an Earth-like planet to harbor life, or multicellular life, certainly temperature is important, but what else is important? And what makes the temperature of an exo-Earth "just right"?

Some recent studies have concluded that answering these questions can be surprisingly difficult, and that some of the answers are surprisingly curious.
  • Consider the tilt of an exo-Earth's axis, its obliquity
  • Consider ultra-violet radiation
  • Consider the effects of clouds
"Just right" is tricky to pin down.

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Re: UT: Nailing Down Goldilocks: What's "Just Right"

Post by rstevenson » Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:20 am

We may be in the process of finding out just how delicate is that balance point between fit for life and not fit for life -- at least our kind of life.

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