Terraforming is the process of altering a planet, moon, or other celestial body to make it more habitable. One potential solution is to use large, lightweight mirrors in orbit around the planet to redirect starlight. An extraterrestrial civilization on a tidally locked planet within a star's habitable zone might also wish to direct starlight onto the planet’s permanently dark side. However, the effects of radiation pressure (RP) on the orbit stability of large, lightweight mirrors are not well known. Our research group is studying the stability of mirror orbits through extensive simulations of mirrors orbiting potentially habitable planets around various types of stars. Whether mirrors survive when experiencing RP depends on the simulation details. Physically, the acceleration caused by RP relative to the star and planet’s gravitational accelerations should be important. The ratio of the planet and mirror orbit periods will also influence the outcome, due to the differing RP direction as the planet orbits the star. Initially, we simulated mirrors at different distances from Earth-sized planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone for different star types, as these planets are more likely to be tidally locked. Mirror orbits were initially circular and had several different orientations. We were unable to statistically model the outcomes as a whole because of gaps in the values of these physically important factors. I have expanded the simulation parameter space to include planets at the middle and outer edges of the habitable zone. I will present an analysis of how a planet's location within the habitable zone affects mirror orbit stability, and evaluate how much these additional simulations have filled the gaps in values of the physically relevant quantities.
Analyzing the Impact of Changing Planet Location on Large Orbiting Mirrors Experiencing Radiation Pressure
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Student Abstract Submission