Posted on 09/20/2013 1:45:59 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Earth will be able to host life for just another 1.75 billion years or so, according to a study published on 18 September in Astrobiology1. The method used to make the calculation can also identify planets outside the Solar System with long ‘habitable periods’, which might be the best places to look for life.
The habitable zone around a star is the area in which an orbiting planet can support liquid water, the perfect solvent for the chemical reactions at the heart of life. Too far from a star and a planet’s water turns to permanent ice and its carbon dioxide condenses; too close, and the heat turns water into vapour that escapes into space.
Habitable zones are not static. The luminosity of a typical star increases as its composition and chemical reactions evolve over billions of years, pushing the habitable zone outward. Researchers reported in March that Earth is closer to the inner edge of the Sun’s habitable zone than previously thought2.
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
Not sure what the energy requirements would be to boost the Earth to a higher orbit around the Sun, but they must be gargantuan. Maybe we could launch a giant "sunshade" to partly block the sun. Make it a solar collector and beam back the energy to Earth as a bonus. (I know, I'm dreaming. The reality is we don't even have an available means to launch a manned vehicle at the moment. Sad, really.)
That does it. I’m shorting Terran real estate.
It'll be here before you know it.
I say in the next thousand years we start building giant spacecraft in orbit, a fleet of them, for the day when we have to the leave to plunder other solar systems of their resources.
We are V.
The day is coming that a giant 8-ball will crash to Earth.
It’s high time I started smoking better cigars.
Back in the Cold War days there was a story that "Red China" was developing a Doomsday weapon: The communist government would equip every Chinese citizen with a six foot stump in their yard. At a signal from Chairman Mao everyone would mount their stump and jump off, knocking the Earth out of its orbit.
We were always V.
Entire cultures of “Puritans”, “wacko environmentalists”, “intelligentsia-dopes” and “Texans” will pack and leave to resettle and start bold new planets in their culture theme. A thousand years from now...the planet Texas will be waiting for folks to arrive.
...and I feel fine.
Yup.
That will be where I belong. Assuming my artificial body and consciousness transfer continues to work smoothly about 200 more times.
/jk
We are the fat blobs in Wall-E.
pretty close right now
The Moon’s orbit increases as angular momentum is transferred from the Earth to the Moon until they become tidally locked with a period of perhaps 40 days for the Earth’s diurnal rotation and the Moon’s orbital period. Then the Sun’s angular momentum is transferred to the Moon, and the Moon’s orbit decreases until reaching the Roche limit close to the Earth. The Moon then breaksup, rains asteroidal destruction upon the surface of the Earth (already dead and barren), and the Earth acquires a ring of Moon debris in orbit around the Earth like the rings of Saturn.
Sounds awesome.
lol
The only problem with your theory is that we know and can prove that the moon is drifting further away from the earth.
but then it comes back and slaps us in the face!
heh
Whether we're talking 100,000, 1 million, or 1 billion years, that's a long damn time.
Yep
Haven't we done enough damage here?
Maybe it's the way of things that when a species develops the technology to colonize other solar systems those same technologies will cause it to self destruct.
Its just backing off to get a running start.
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