Tag Archives: planet obliquity

Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars

Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, according to new research from astronomers at the University of Washington. (more…)

Read More

Most of Earth’s carbon may be hidden in the planet’s inner core, new model suggests

ANN ARBOR — As much as two-thirds of Earth’s carbon may be hidden in the inner core, making it the planet’s largest carbon reservoir, according to a new model that even its backers acknowledge is “provocative and speculative.” (more…)

Read More