Related papers: Earth\'s Mass Variability
A gap in exoplanets' radius distribution has been widely attributed to the photo-evaporation threshold of their progenitors' gaseous envelope. Giant impacts can also lead to substantial mass-loss. The outflowing gas endures tidal torque…
The evolution and escape of the martian atmosphere and the planet's water inventory can be separated into an early and late evolutionary epoch. The first epoch started from the planet's origin and lasted $\sim$500 Myr. Because of the high…
I describe a climate model which corresponds directly to eclipse cycles. The theory is based upon a similarity between the 54 year triple saros eclipse period and the periodicity of drought. I argue that eclipse shadows are an indication of…
Earth-mass planets are expected to have atmospheres and experience thermal tides raised by the host star. These tides transfer energy to the planet that can counter the dissipation from bodily tides. Indeed, even a relatively thin…
Understanding the concept of habitability is related to an evolutionary knowledge of the particular planet-in-question. Additional indications so-called "systemic aspects" of the planetary system as a whole governs a particular planet's…
A considerable portion of near-Earth objects could have come from the trans-Neptunian belt. Some of them have aphelia deep inside Jupiter's orbit during more than 1 Myr.
The role of the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, volcanic and other aerosols, as well as the extraordinary solar activity of the late 20th century are discussed in the context of the warming since the mid-1970s.…
We present an analysis of the global-integrated mid-infrared emission flux of the Earth based on data derived from satellite measurements. We have studied the photometric annual, seasonal, and rotational variability of the thermal emission…
The intra-day variable source 0917+624 displays annual changes in its timescale of variability. This is explained in terms of a scintillation model in which changes in the variability timescale are due to changes in the relative velocity of…
Water vapour is highly subsaturated in much of the Earth's atmosphere. This has important consequences for water vapour feedback, and also for general phenomena such as the runaway greenhouse. In this chapter, we discuss the processes that…
The origin of the Earth's ocean has been discussed on the basis of deuterium/hydrogen ratios (D/H) of several sources of water in the solar system. The average D/H of carbonaceous chondrites (CC's) is known to be close to the current D/H of…
The multiverse is a hierarchy in the number of universes, increasing stepwise towards infinity. It is an evolutionary system, in which universes survive only near critical mass. That mass is actually a factor of 1.94 less than the critical…
We study the phenomenon of mass loss by a scalar charge -- a point particle that acts a source for a noninteracting scalar field -- in an expanding universe. The charge is placed on comoving world lines of two cosmological spacetimes: a de…
The universe appears to be accelerating, but the reason why is a complete mystery. The simplest explanation, a small vacuum energy (cosmological constant), raises three difficult issues: why the vacuum energy is so small, why it is not…
Water content and the internal evolution of terrestrial planets and icy bodies are closely linked. The distribution of water in planetary systems is controlled by the temperature structure in the protoplanetary disk and dynamics and…
A wealth of astronomical data indicate the presence of mass discrepancies in the Universe. The motions observed in a variety of classes of extragalactic systems exceed what can be explained by the mass visible in stars and gas. Either (i)…
There is a long-standing debate regarding the origin of the terrestrial planets' water as well as the hydrated C-type asteroids. Here we show that the inner Solar System's water is a simple byproduct of the giant planets' formation. Giant…
The notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts has a long tradition in science. This, of course, also applies to the Earth system. With its myriad of processes, spanning from purely physical to life and human activity, the…
When we are fortunate enough to view an exoplanetary system nearly edge-on, the star and planet periodically eclipse each other. Observations of eclipses (transits and occultations) provide a bonanza of information that cannot be obtained…
Gravity is one of the most inexplicable forces of nature, controlling everything, from the expansion of the Universe to the ebb and flow of ocean tides. The search for the laws of motion and gravitation began more than two thousand years…