Questions tagged [astronomy]
For questions related to planets, moons, stars and other celestial objects, and their motion on the sky.
395
questions
3
votes
1answer
59 views
How might an exoplanet have a highly radioactive atmosphere?
The exoplanet in question is Proxima Centauri b. How might the mid-to-upper-level atmosphere of that planet be dangerously radioactive and full of airborne nuclear reagents, without it being the ...
26
votes
17answers
8k views
Is there any conceivable way to “turn off” a star?
In my world, a group of "lamplighters" seek to turn off unused stars to conserve the energy for later use. This serves a few purposes, but mainly:
It delays the heat-death of the Universe to some ...
6
votes
2answers
136 views
Binary World Mechanics
I’m trying to develop a realistic system with a limited understanding of astrodynamics.
Is it possible to have two binary worlds capable of sustaining atmosphere and complex life orbiting one another ...
3
votes
2answers
119 views
How well would a planet in orbit of a star above the Galactic bulge see?
I am making a story of a species who lives on a planet several light-years above the Galactic Bulge. With advanced technology, how much could they see from their vantage point? Could they carry out ...
1
vote
3answers
65 views
Can velocity drift be used to calculate a radio wave source's distance from Earth?
If you're studying radio signals from Earth, is it possible to calculate whether a radio source is 'near' as in near Earth or 'very far away' as in somewhere far out in space from velocity, or ...
2
votes
4answers
190 views
Is a “Partial” Black-Hole Possible?
Black holes are created by the gravitational collapse of massive stars.
But in theory, black holes can also be created by any mass at all that is confined within a small enough volume of space, ...
5
votes
6answers
144 views
Locating rogue planet in deep space based on astronomical observations from its surface?
Assume that you have a Rogue Planet hurtling through deep space.
Somehow, an alien civilization from, say, 1,000 ly away acquires astronomical data from this planet. This data is in the form of high ...
8
votes
2answers
642 views
What's the largest igneous province an impact event could create on Earth?
With the potential for an impact event to trigger volcanic activity on the opposite side of the planet, what is the largest plateau of flood basalt physically capable of forming on Earth, post-impact?
1
vote
2answers
72 views
Is it possible for a large planetary body to embed itself onto the Earth?
With the proper composition and mass, is it possible for a planetary body to collide with Earth and embed itself onto the mantle?
To clarify, while immense destruction would undoubtedly occur to the ...
7
votes
2answers
242 views
If humans evolved on Mars instead of Earth, how quickly would we have detected life on Earth?
Suppose that both Earth and Mars was booming with life in a similar way. Except that, on Earth, there was no hominid family, and no humans evolved. Instead, humans evolved on Mars.
Assuming we had ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Is it possible for an impact event to render the Earth's surface unrecognizable while still forming a large complex crater?
Is it physically possible for a complex crater to form and remain stable after an impact event large enough to deform the Earth's crust globally, insofar that the surface of the planet becomes ...
6
votes
1answer
114 views
What does and doesn't work with this planetary system around a red dwarf?
So I have the following scenario for a story, and I want to know if it runs into any ridiculous no-nos from a scientific point of view:
There is an earth-like world orbiting a red dwarf (similar to ...
3
votes
1answer
137 views
Could intelligent life arise on a planet that isn't 'tethered' to a star, just drifting near to one? [duplicate]
Earth's movement in space is obviously linked to the Sun, as are many other planets. But what I'm asking, is could intelligent life develop on a world that is merely 'passing by' and basking in a ...
6
votes
3answers
199 views
How Likely is a Planet Made Almost Entirely of Metals?
For this question, the word 'metals' does not refer to elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. It instead refers to metals as defined by the periodic table of elements.
After researching the ...
12
votes
3answers
4k views
Can planetary bodies have a second axis of rotation?
Is it possible for a planetary body to have a secondary axis of rotation? For example let's say there's an Earth-like body that is spinning with its North Pole facing the Sun. Imagine that the North ...
0
votes
1answer
662 views
Stabilizing Synchronized Orbit
The planet in my story, Ser, is actually in reality a moon orbiting a larger body called planet Rea. Ser is located in the L1 Lagrangian point, which means it takes the same amount of time to orbit ...
5
votes
1answer
141 views
Could a planet be habitable due to illumination from the galactic core?
I recently saw this answers where it was suggested that the galactic core could illuminate a planet suffiently to make sure it is always summer on one side of the planet. This got me curious and after ...
29
votes
17answers
7k views
How could a planet have one hemisphere way warmer than the other without the planet being tidally locked?
I would like a planet that's a tropical paradise on one side but covered in ice and glaciers on the opposite side, whether it be the Southern-Northern or the Western-Eastern hemisphere.
I know it ...
6
votes
5answers
159 views
Planetary neighbors
Let's say there is another planet in our solar system that harbours sentient life and this sentient life can build castles, buildings, and other such structures.
When would we notice that?
We can ...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
Moons that can't see each other
Could 2 moons that orbit same terrestrial planet never see each other if they orbit the planet at same time?
Moons have different mass and gravity.
5
votes
2answers
277 views
What would happen if the Earth passed through an interstellar dust cloud?
I understand an interstellar dust cloud as "an accumulation of gas, plasma, and dust in our and other galaxies. Put differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the ...
11
votes
6answers
4k views
Subtle ways to render a planet uninhabitable
A violent way of rendering a planet uninhabitable being the obvious: accelerate a large enough object to a sufficient velocity that everything on the planet goes the way of the dinosaurs.
Put briefly,...
11
votes
2answers
166 views
The North Star in the ancient world sky
Question: Would a modern-day teen, trained in using the north star for directions when camping/hiking, notice a difference in how the "north star" (Polaris) works when transported suddenly to 1350 BCE?...
8
votes
5answers
361 views
Can early astronomers determine the gravity of their planet's “moon” without ever going there?
As I was thinking about space flight for my world, I thought about how they would need to know a planet's gravitational force before they could land, and found that humans figured out the moon's ...
13
votes
2answers
261 views
Rogue Planet Illuminated by Galactic Centre
The black hole question reminded me of an idea I wanted to implement at some point in a space campaign, but didn't go forward with because I was unsure whether it's merely statistically very ...
7
votes
2answers
233 views
Life around Cepheid Variable stars
Are there any unique challenges life would face evolving on a planet orbiting a Cepheid Variable star? I'm aware this is a broad question, so to narrow it down, consider this a question about Great ...
3
votes
3answers
414 views
Aliens blew up Pluto so we would stop debating whether or not to call it a planet, what happens to Earth? [closed]
It seems the Fraxians, an alien race from Alpha Centuri, have been secretly watching our television ever since we started broadcasting it (well technically I suppose 4.367 years after we started ...
6
votes
1answer
187 views
Is it possible to have a planet with earth-like mass but double the atmospheric pressure?
I'm no scientist and my poor brain box is on its last legs; I was wondering if any of you smart beans out there would be able to help me figure this out? Here are the specs of my system;
Kereiol is a ...
4
votes
2answers
155 views
Looking for a review of my tidally locked red dwarf planet system specs!
Hello! I've put together my first planetary system, but as I'm not a scientist (and bad at maths) I'm reaching the limits of my brainbox and would really appreciate some fact checking! I have ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
How Far Can The Stars Ve and Vili Orbit The Main One, Odin?
In this solar system, there are three K-type main sequence stars, or "orange dwarves", named Odin, Vili and Ve. At the center of this solar system, Odin is 80% the mass of our sun. The middle star, ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
If Janus and Epimetheus had moons
Imagine a planet with two moons that have an orbital pattern similar to that of Janus and Epimetheus of Saturn...
Is there a way for one of these moons to keep a stable pair of Trojan sub moons?
I'm ...
2
votes
4answers
123 views
Intelligent life wiped out in a binary system with a neutron star?
For the purposes of my story, I have created the following setting.
An Earth-like planet orbits a binary star system made up of a Sun-like star and a neutron star. For the majority of time (hundreds ...
4
votes
2answers
209 views
If a moon shattered into pieces, what would happen?
Say I have a planet with 10-20 moons of varying sizes orbiting it. If one of these moons were to explode/shatter into tiny pieces (I know this is probably impossible, but if we pretended it were ...
5
votes
3answers
319 views
For people on earth, is it possible to harvest energy by decelerating the planet rotation?
I was working on a side project to design an alien fleet that is wandering in the universe, and harvesting energy from planets for their needs. While I can think of ways to make that happen (...
19
votes
2answers
2k views
What would the consequences be of a high number of solar systems being within close proximity to one another?
What would the consequences be of a high number of solar systems being within close proximity to one another? I'm mainly interested in the consequences for life on multiple planets. When I say 'close ...
10
votes
2answers
209 views
How long would this eclipse last?
For a moon orbiting a gas giant which is in turn orbiting a star, I want to know how long the eclipse would last for an observer standing on the moon when the planet passes between the moon and the ...
7
votes
2answers
226 views
At What Point Does a World's Twin Planet Disappear, from the Viewer's Perspective?
This is Yeola~Camay. A double planet orbiting Sharro, an ordinaryish star somewhere in the universe of Far Far Away.
As you can plainly see, Yeola is the planet on the left & Camay is the planet ...
31
votes
5answers
11k views
If Sweden was to magically float away, at what altitude would it be visible from the southern hemisphere?
If a chunk of land mass the size and position of Sweden took off and floated away in a straight line, exiting the atmosphere and orbiting earth, at what distance would it be visible from, let's say, ...
5
votes
2answers
491 views
Could a brown dwarf in our outer solar system remain undetected today?
We've all heard the on-again, off-again theories of another massive object in the vast reaches of the outer solar system. Some potential evidence to support the possibility are its affects on smaller ...
7
votes
1answer
102 views
Visibility of a Red Dwarf Companion Star
An interstellar traveller stands upon the surface of an alien planet beneath the light of an unfamiliar sun. The planet upon which he stands orbits one star of a binary system in which one is a G-...
14
votes
4answers
5k views
Would mining huge amounts of resources on the Moon change its orbit?
Imagine that humanity builds mining facilities on the moon. We know that the moon has Helium-3 which could be used as fuel for fusion reactors. Also, there are a lot of other resources which could be ...
9
votes
6answers
343 views
What light would my cloudy planet receive from a red dwarf star?
What light spectrum would hit the surface of a planet orbiting a red dwarf star?
The planet is a humid greenhouse with a cloudy atmosphere and a strong ozone layer. Over 80% of the surface is water. ...
6
votes
2answers
217 views
Black hole collides with Sun: How rapidly is energy released?
Basic idea: Primordial black hole (2.5% of Sun's mass) directly approaches Sun at fairly rapid pace (300 km/s).
Consequently, six days after passing Earth's orbit, it will collide with the Sun; ...
9
votes
1answer
218 views
To make a blue moon, what element does it need?
We know that Mars has a reddish color, because its ground consists of iron-based compounds. The moon is grey-whiteish because it consists mostly of silicon-based compounds.
What element should the ...
3
votes
2answers
110 views
Is there a plausible causal mechanism to explain why the Sun would be heating up faster/ sooner than we thought?
I am writing a novel about what it will be like on earth 500 or so years before the death of our Sun. The Sun is heating up gradually and one day that will negatively affect life on Earth. I know that ...
-3
votes
1answer
293 views
In a world with 12 moons but NO sun, how to define a day? [closed]
I made the map of my fantasy world before thinking about the physics, as you can see bellow the art!
I'm interested to understand how to decide which moon is in the sky at a given moment, if it's ...
13
votes
18answers
4k views
How can a moon have an ever-changing face?
Imagine an inhabitated planet like ours with a moon of the same projected size in the sky. The moon has visible structures of colors or darker and lighter areas.
Every evening when the moon gets ...
4
votes
2answers
247 views
How much heat would a 1km asteroid release into earth's atmosphere?
I am writing a theory for a game that is in an apocalypse. An asteroid is heading for earth and will crash into the earth regardless in this theory. It is 1km in size but due to the YORP effect it has ...
1
vote
1answer
216 views
Is it possible to divert a 1km Asteroid from Earth?
I am writing a scenario for a game that I am a fan of. It involves an asteroid heading for impact with the Earth in 2027. This asteroid's initial diameter is about 1km, but it is slowly disintegrating ...
26
votes
13answers
6k views
How can a planet have a deadly eclipse-like “spotlight”?
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. The result is a giant shadow that sweeps across the Earth's surface.
This world has the opposite phenomenon. Instead of a ...
