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From the article:
"More generally, if this analysis is right, it means that the "habitable zone" for planets around other stars may be much wider than has been assumed, since Venus had been thought to be far outside it."

It might also indicate, if the analiysis were proven, that a "habitable time" might be shorter for planets nearer their suns. But maybe I'm leaving out a lot of factors. 8)

Thanks ToSeek. Really interesting idea. The only thing about it that might not be good is that some people might point at it and say "This, this is where the aliens came from to create life on Earth! Venus!" :roll: :P -Colt

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And Hoagey had his eyes set on Mars for sooo long.

You know what the crazy thing is?

BradGuth may have spouted some truth?!?! Only he picked the wrong millenium.

If anyone is interested, Grinspoon wrote an entire bok on Venus called "Venus Revealed." It is a really good overview of what is known and not known about Venus.

The idea that it was habitable is a good one, though I wonder if part of the problem is the rate of rotation. Given that Earth and Mars have rotation rates that are approximately the same, and Venus presumably started out with a simiar rotational speed, give or take, than it stands to reason something slowed its rotation down (probably a big whack). Anything big enough to slow the planet down that much would wipe out any life on it, odds are.

That slower rotation meant that the sun could heat up the atmosphere more and boil away the oceans. Water is a greenhouse gas too.

Which begs the question: Could Venus' unpleasant atmosphere have been caused in some way by the slowing of its rotation? :-?

Well, think about it: The Venusian day is longer than the Venusian year. That would make things quite interesting in regards to climate indeed. Now, how to make it rotate faster? 8)

I think another big whack coukd make it spin faster, Vermonter. But after it settles into a 10-60 hour day cycle, would the oceans come back?

Stuff like this makes me feel lucky this planet is still alive. After 4 billion years we could have easily been turned into a Venus or Mars. fried by a nearby supernova. Does the Moon stabilize our orbit? A close pass between the Sun and another star could have kicked us out of this solar system and into a frigid death.


But here we are......


~Bub

A close pass between the Sun and another star could have kicked us out of this solar system and into a frigid death.

I wonder how common that occurence is? Solar systems are pretty small targets, and stars are very far apart...
then again, some double stars seem to be accidental captures, so it does happen.

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The 'solar system' extends pretty far out (oort clouds and all, and any substantial gravity pull from the sun), I think to at least a light year (not the oort clouds, just the gravity well), but that's a hazy reference for me right now. So two stars wouldn't really have to brush, they could just pull each other closer (unless one was really hauling as.... teroids compared to the other)

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