[mrkurt]

I don't want to sound like too much of a jackass here, but do you have any reason to think that other planets are warming? The rhetorical technique of "pose a question without any real backing, then demand proof when someone answers" drives me nuts.

[tom_rath]

Yes. For one, there's that big ol' fusion furnace in the middle of the place that's tossing out a variable amount of energy as time goes on.

Examining the weather of other planets would help explain if solar activity or other factors are affecting planetary temperatures more than recent human actions.

[Tamerlin]

Jupiter is far enough from the sun that it already emits significantly more heat than it receives. So the sun becoming more active won't have any measurable effect on Jupiter, or any other of our gas giants, or Pluto or Charon.

If any planets ARE warming because of an increase in solar activity, the ones we should expect to see a change on are Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Venus is a good example of what happens if the greenhouse effects run amok, and Mars is a good example of the opposite. We're in the middle, at least for now.

[demallien]

The sun isn't responsible for global warming. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7327393.stm

[tom_rath]

Please don't bring that politicized stuff into the discussion. That's a different flame war entirely.

If Jupiter is warming/cooling or Mars is warming/cooling, then something has to be responsible for it, and it sure isn't human activity.

If not the sun, then what? Something about planetary environments we're likely interested in learning more about, right?

[demallien]

You don't get to just label contrary scientific findings as 'political', and dismiss it out of hand. Here's the published paper that the article refers to: http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/3/2/024001/ The correlations don't hold up under analysis, and that's really all there is to be said on the subject. But if you feel that you can refute that paper with evidence, then go for it. I for one would love for you to be right, It's no doubt save me (and everyone else on the planet) a whole load of economic pain. Sadly, reality does't seem to be going along with my desires.

[tom_rath]

I didn't dismiss/refute/claim anything or intend to start yet another global warming flame war. I'm probably as familiar with that research as you are and I'm not refuting it.

If other planets are warming/cooling then something is responsible for it. If it's not the sun, then it's something else related to planetary environments with which we are not familiar. Studying that would be A Good Idea, regardless of where people stand on global warming, because examining Earth alone just gives us a single data point.

What's happening on Mars? Does it parallel the changes we're seeing on Earth to some degree? What's happening in Jupiter's atmosphere to bring about such a dramatic change in a short period of time?

Could we see a similar dramatic change on this planet?