A strange hypothetical planet

[Moreno]

 Can there exist an unusual planet where according to some strange pattern of rotation no seasons of year and no significant difference in temperature between different places on the planet? It means there is days and nights but all places on the planet are illuminated by the star with the same intensity and periodicity. For example, what if planet exhibits very fast and large axe precession?

[mathematic]

If the axis of rotation were perpendicular to the orbit path, there would be no seasonal change.  However there would be differences in temperature from the equator to the poles, unless the planet was cubical rather than spherical in shape.

[mistermack]

I reckon that Venus would come pretty close. It's rotation has very little tilt, and the atmosphere is so thick and hot that the heat is probably spread around the planet very evenly.

Not a pleasant place though, so conditions are predictable but pretty horrific.

[Moreno]

On ‎9‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 5:27 PM, mathematic said:

If the axis of rotation were perpendicular to the orbit path, there would be no seasonal change.  However there would be differences in temperature from the equator to the poles, unless the planet was cubical rather than spherical in shape.

What if plant rotates in two dimensions simultaneously, around the axes and perpendicular to them? In this case there would be no permanent equator. 

[Ken Fabian]

1 hour ago, Moreno said:

What if plant rotates in two dimensions simultaneously, around the axes and perpendicular to them? In this case there would be no permanent equator. 

Been a long time since I did circular motion in (high school) physics classes but I don't think this could exist as a steady state; change the axis and precession results. There is a lot of momentum in a spinning planet that will resist changing the axis.

[Prometheus]

Wouldn't the planets orbital eccentricity also be a factor worth considering (although much less than axis of rotation): the closer to 0 the less variation in distance from it's sun.

[Moreno]

What if precession of the Earth axe would be so large that it would change its direction 180 degrees annually? What would be climate on Earth? Could there be a planets with that pattern of rotation? Which rotate like a spinning top?

[MigL]

I remember in Asimov's Nightfall; the planet followed a convoluted orbit about a multi-star system, such that night only came every thousand years.
Night would bring darkness and a view of the stars. People lost their minds and their civilization ended with each cycle.

Such planets exist in fiction; don't know about RL.

Edited October 14, 2019 by MigL

[mistermack]

As far as the OP question goes, that is where we are heading already. People live indoors with no seasons and no significant temperature differences. Indoor lighting is getting more like real daylight all the time. Yes we go outdoors, but usually when the outdoor temperatures are similar to the ideal indoor temps.

In the future, people will live in giant spinning space stations, with the climate of their choice, and always artificially lit. Outdoors will be a thing of the past for nearly everybody. 

[Janus]

4 hours ago, Moreno said:

What if precession of the Earth axe would be so large that it would change its direction 180 degrees annually? What would be climate on Earth? Could there be a planets with that pattern of rotation? Which rotate like a spinning top?

The precession  period is indirectly proportional to the torque and the rotational period of the planet.  If you want the planet to still have a day-night period the same as the Earth, you need to increase the torque.   The torque is supplied by tidal forces.  Tidal forces fall off by the cube of the distance and directly with the mass of the object causing them.  For the Earth, these tidal forces are produced by the Moon and Sun, with the Moon being the larger contributor.  So you would need some combination of increased mass of Sun and Moon and distance to them to get the needed amount.  Changing either the mass of or distance to the Sun changes the length of the year and in both cases the changes needed to increase the torque shortens the year. Which in turn means that the precession period has to shorten, leading to needing more torque required, meaning you have to adjusted the mass/distance again... It becomes a viscous circle.  You'd have to work out if a "sweet spot" even exists.  Then there is the fact that increasing the Sun's mass would change its spectral class.  Changing the Moon's distance and mass would result in either a very massive or very close Moon, in either case, it would likely be extremely swollen in the sky.

The other problem is that if you increase the tidal forces enough to provide the type of torque you would need for such a fast precession, you also have tidal forces so strong that they would very quickly lead to tidal locking. Not only that, but with an ocean covered world like the Earth, the vast majority of the land surface would be under water twice a day due to the rising of the tides.