Thomas Quinn
June 20, 2019
Looking for life: UW researchers, presentations abound at 2019 astrobiology conference in Bellevue
![](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/06/20132356/Moon_618-150x150.jpg)
A roundup of UW talents and presentations in AbSciCon2019, the national conference on astrobiology — the search for life in the universe — to be held in Bellevue, June 24-28.
May 14, 2018
Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars
![An artist’s impression of Earth as a frigid "‘snowball" planet. New research from the University of Washington indicates that aspects of a planet's axial tilt or orbit could trigger such a snowball state, where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/05/04125205/Snowball-Earth-150x150.jpg)
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.
March 11, 2015
‘Chaotic Earths’: Some habitable exoplanets could experience wildly unpredictable climates
![](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/03/04173152/ChaoticResonancePlanets041-150x150.jpg)
New research by UW astronomer Rory Barnes and co-authors describes possible planetary systems where a gravitational nudge from one planet with just the right orbital configuration and tilt could have a mild to devastating effect on the orbit and climate of another, possibly habitable world.