A desert planet, also known as a dry planet, an arid planet, or a dune planet, is a type of terrestrial planet with an arid surface consistency similar to Earth's deserts. Mars is a prominent example of a desert planet in the Solar System.[1]
History
A 2011 study suggested that not only are life-sustaining desert planets possible, but that they might be more common than Earth-like planets.[2] The study found that, when modeled, desert planets had a much larger habitable zone than ocean planets.[2] The same study also speculated that Venus may have once been a habitable desert planet as recently as 1 billion years ago.[2] It is also predicted that Earth will become a desert planet within a billion years due to the Sun's increasing luminosity.[2]
A study conducted in 2013 concluded that hot desert planets without runaway greenhouse effect can exist in 0.5 AU around Sun-like stars. In that study, it was concluded that a minimum humidity of 1% is needed to wash off carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but too much water can act as a greenhouse gas itself. Higher atmospheric pressures increase the range in which the water can remain liquid.[3]
^Touponce, William F. (1988). "Intellectual Background". Frank Herbert. Boston: Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co. p. 119. ISBN978-0-8057-7514-3.
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