What sort of solar system / atmospheric conditions, if any, would allow for a very cold planet that still receives plenty of light from its sun?

The setting I'm interested in would involve a cold planet (cold enough for most bodies of water to be frozen - I'm thinking of an average global temperature of -20C or below). The simplest way would have to have the planet far away from its star. However I'd rather not deal with the low-light aspect, so I was wondering if there's a way to avoid that. The luminosity level I aim for is above 'Sun as seen from Mars'.

Having no atmosphere would be easy, but not exactly what I'm aiming for. I'd prefer an atmosphere that allows human life. (I mean in the breathing sense. Separate shielding for cosmic rays can be provided, if necessary)I'd prefer weather (eg. ground covered in snow, whether water-based or something else, which would also increase the albedo). I realize that Earth had several Snowball eras, but I'm wondering if there could be a planet with the above characteristics whose main state is 'snowball'.

Also - could this be possible with a blue star?

posted over 4 years ago

Laura‭

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