🥶 What if Earth moved farther from the Sun?
Dimmer, colder, longer years — at 1.1 AU sunlight falls ~17%.
The science
At 1.1 AU, Earth receives about 17% less sunlight and the year stretches to ~421 days. Simplified models suggest a much colder world, possibly tipping toward a 'snowball Earth' if ice-albedo feedback takes hold.
Immediate consequences (modelled)
Global cooling; longer years; dimmer Sun.
Possible long-term consequences (hypotheses)
Expanding ice raises albedo (reflectivity), which can amplify cooling — a feedback seen in Earth's own snowball episodes.
Assumptions: Circular orbit; feedbacks described qualitatively.
Limitations: Does not model climate, geology, biology or engineering in full detail.
Reference: NASA / peer-reviewed planetary science