David Fleming
September 19, 2019
Introducing VPLanet: A virtual planet simulator for modeling distant worlds across time

UW astrobiologist Rory Barnes and co-authors have created software that simulates multiple aspects of planetary evolution across billions of years, with an eye toward finding and studying potentially habitable worlds.
May 14, 2018
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 UW astronomers.
April 12, 2018
Circumbinary castaways: Short-period binary systems can eject orbiting worlds

Planets orbiting “short-period” binary stars, or stars locked in close orbital embrace, can be ejected off into space as a consequence of their host stars’ evolution, according to new research from the University of Washington.