Questions tagged [atmosphere]
For questions about the gases which surround a planet or some other celestial body.
454
questions
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How to explain a planet with visible cosmos at daytime?
So I'm working on a fictional planet which would experience a daytime sky similar to this.
This particular picture is from the movie Valerian: City of a Thousand Planets. Fictional alien atmospheres ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Aerodynamics of propeller vs screw/fin based aerial propulsion
Would it make sense to use screw- and fin-like bending surfaces for propulsion (like what eels or the king of herrings have but in the atmosphere) instead of regular propellers or even flapping wings ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Dinitrogen monoxide as a gaseous oxidizer for life
Could alien life use nitrous oxide, N2O, as its oxidizing gas, like oxygen on earth? What biochemical reactions would be needed to produce and utilise this gas?
I've also heard conflicting messages, ...
5
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5answers
929 views
Can an atmosphere be thicker at higher altitudes?
Can a world exist where the atmosphere is actually thicker at some altitude than at sea level? If so, what mechanisms would be involved?
5
votes
2answers
89 views
Carbon Monoxide Rich Atmosphere
I want to make an atmosphere rich in carbon monoxide, but as it doesn't stick around for very long, it will need to be replenished. I'm looking for concentrations comparable to those of carbon dioxide ...
15
votes
4answers
693 views
Assuming a flat world and no obstacles, how far could you see?
I know this question has been asked in similar places, but I'm after a specific part of the problem. Assuming the following:
Perfectly flat, infinite world
Earth's atmosphere
Sun directly overhead of ...
4
votes
1answer
80 views
How long would it take for a room full of bodies to decay in a locked space station without oxygen? [duplicate]
So the idea is to have my main characters wake up from cryo with no idea of how long they were in it and stumble upon a room full of bodies completely decayed to bone and however long they were in ...
6
votes
6answers
228 views
How could an Earth-like planet support all-metal airships?
When I say all-metal airships, I'm referring to something like the above from Jakub Rozalski's artwork - the design is more akin to a naval destroyer or battleship and less like a zeppelin. We've seen ...
3
votes
2answers
213 views
The One Problem With Terraforming and Colonizing a Super-Earth
Many people are excited with the idea of super-Earths--rocky, habitable exoplanets greater in mass, density and diameter (because I'd prefer to go the whole way than stop at the halfway point) than ...
5
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3answers
227 views
Are planets like the “To'ul'hian Worlds” from Orion's Arm plausible?
The Orion's Arm Universe Project includes a description of what they call "To'ul'hian Worlds", planets that are (in the simplest of terms) a cross between Earth and Venus.
I'm working on designing a ...
5
votes
1answer
79 views
How extreme can a habitable tidaly locked world be?
I want to create a tidally locked world with a habitable (broadly Earth like atmosphere and biome that humans could breathe and live in) band stretching around the terminator pole to pole. There would ...
4
votes
2answers
109 views
How does composition change if you extend an Earthlike atmosphere 50km below sea level?
I'm working to design the atmosphere of a fictional planet inspired by Venus (let's call it Cael).
Cael's atmosphere at an altitude of 50 km is essentially identical to Earth's atmosphere at sea ...
5
votes
3answers
134 views
Generating breathable air on Europa?
Humans have colonized the subsurface oceans of Europa - building large cities embedded in the icy crust, hanging beneath it, and resting on the rocky seafloor. These colonists mine metals for ...
8
votes
1answer
135 views
Orange Suns and Blue Jupiters
I am developing a fictional planetary system in which a large gas giant planet (slightly less than the mass of Saturn), has migrated into the habitable zone during the formational years of the system, ...
4
votes
3answers
150 views
Alien planet concept: could a completely misty, dark atmosphere be possible?
I was thinking of creating an alien planet that orbits a star slightly past the habitable zone, but is kept warm by an extremely dense atmosphere, made primarily of a black gas, but still contains ...
19
votes
2answers
4k views
A character steps outside in the upper atmosphere of Venus- how sunburned is he?
For complicated reasons our hero's blimp in the Venus atmosphere at an altitude of 50 km gets a tear in it and sunlight floods inside (there is no gondola, the blimp is a semi-ellipsoid of breathable ...
6
votes
1answer
76 views
Would there be Rayleigh scattering in an atmosphere of sulfur dioxide?
Can a planet with a dense atmosphere composed mainly of sulfur dioxide have a blue sky like Earth's due to Rayleigh scattering? Or would the composition change the color of the sky? I mean, it's well ...
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votes
2answers
97 views
What would gravity, breath, and human bodies be like near the heart of the Earth?
If humans lived on the inside of the earth's crust, what would happen if they climbed mountains? These mountains would stretch toward the burning center of the Earth. Would gravity get stronger the ...
17
votes
4answers
3k views
How to get a green gas giant?
In Deep, deep space, there exists a star system with a single planet. This planet, named Dewel, is a large, green gas giant with a mass of about twice Jupiter's. What could this planet's atmosphere ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
Astronaut Survival on a Toxic (Ammonia) Watery Planet
My story begins with a group of colonists on a ship when something happens (spoilers) and the colonists are forced to abandon ship and land on a nearby uncharted moon of a gas giant.
The good news: ...
2
votes
0answers
27 views
Alternative Ozone Layer [duplicate]
The reason for the high level of Oxygen in the atmosphere today is due to the billions of years worth of photosynthetic prokaryotes releasing it as a waste product. Of course, in the higher levels of ...
5
votes
2answers
146 views
Jupiter Leaks Into Earth
A recent question here on SE:WB reminded me of a short story I wrote a long time ago, and has inspired me to revisit the idea.
The premise: A race of massive alien creatures travel from planet to ...
9
votes
2answers
103 views
Sustainability of Regular Global Wildfires Due to Oxygen Rich Atmosphere
So, I've heard that above around 35% O2 concentration in Earth-like atmospheres leads to wildfires that just never go out.
I'm thinking of using this like California, with its regularly occuring ...
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2answers
104 views
What would be the effect(s) of high-speed plasma impacting a planet?
As a follow-up to this question, what would be the effect(s) of a high-speed of super-heated plasma entering and impacting on a planet?
The planet is about the size of 1.2x Earth(s), with a similar ...
7
votes
1answer
141 views
What gas can replace ozone as a UV filter in a planet's atmosphere?
Consider a planet with life forms, which are different than those found here on Earth, orbiting a star similar to the Sun. Such life forms don't use oxygen and, therefore, the planet's atmosphere is ...
6
votes
2answers
122 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 ...
51
votes
3answers
10k views
Could dinosaurs breathe modern air?
During much of the Cretaceous period, oxygen levels were substantially higher than they are currently, with estimates indicating that around 30% of the atmosphere consisted of oxygen. Obviously, this ...
6
votes
2answers
178 views
Tall trees : atmospheric pressure
In my previous post, I asked about how tall trees could grow in my world. To be honest, I really need those trees to be huge for my storie, because a big part of the plot will be linked to those big ...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Life-supporting climate for an organolithium planetary environment?
I'm looking to design one of my warring planets around organolithium chemistry with seas and precipitate primarily composed of a clear organolithium solvent liquid - possibly ammonia. I've searched ...
6
votes
6answers
5k views
'Nuke the sky' to make a rocket launch a tiny bit easier
My aliens want to build the heaviest chemical rocket possible: They never were much into space travel, since their planets' gravity is about 1.5 of ours. They made lots of bad experiences fighting ...
18
votes
4answers
6k views
Could you fly a Boeing 747 on Venus?
I have been making a future colonization scenario where people have vast colonies on Mars and cloud top bases on Venus. These things are unbelievably large. I've already thought of a way to travel ...
3
votes
3answers
157 views
What's a plausible reason for a bacteria/disease to only exist near the surface of a planet?
Context: Humans have escaped a a super-bacteria, similar in situation to the Bubonic Plague, that they could not create a cure for. They've done this by engineering gargantuan trees and adapting to ...
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2answers
91 views
What would happens if global warming cause enough atmosphere loss?
What would happens if due to increased volume and reduced density, the global warming cause consistent loss into space of certain gases of atmosphere? What would we observe?
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9answers
2k views
What would it take to slow down fermentation? (Specific: Wine / grape juice)
I am working on a story about a person who was raised on an earth-like planet and later moves to our earth. The planet he is from specializes in fruit juice and alcohol making, in specific, wine. When ...
6
votes
2answers
114 views
In what ways a higher level of oxygen (23 to 25%) and higher pressure (1,7 time the earth air density) would affect winds and ocean currents?
From some research, I have learned that atmospheric circulation - winds currents and ocean currents - depend on pressure and the Coriolis effect. But if the oxygen level is increased and the pressure ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
What could cause Fluorocarbons to be present in an Earth-like atmosphere?
Pretty simple (in theory that is) question for one of my worlds. I heard carbon fluorides are intense greenhouse gases but otherwise harmless and didn't lead to large issues (atleast none that I could ...
3
votes
6answers
345 views
Can a Sunset Be Black (Infrared)?
Fact 1: The cause of a sunset is from the angle of the sunlight, because the amount of scattering increases as the light passes through more and more of the atmosphere.
Fact 2: Higher frequency / ...
1
vote
2answers
87 views
Would lots of hydrogen in a atmosphere cause Fire Storm [duplicate]
Basically Group A Breaths in water and out Hydrogen, Group B in Hydrogen and out water like us and trees but water and hydrogen instead of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Would the hydrogen in the ...
4
votes
1answer
168 views
Making a planet with high humidity
I'm making a Region of a planet with very high humidity, mostly covered in fog at ground level. I am open to having seasonal changes and would like there to be a few sunny days lets say 1 out of 15, ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
How to calculate atmospheric circulation cells
Does anyone know an equation or something along those lines for calculating how many and the locations of atmospheric circulation cells for a planet?
Also, does the planet's radius and atmospheric ...
4
votes
4answers
162 views
How big an area can we possibly make habitable on the moon?
This question focuses on an artificial atmosphere on the moon and the achieved amount being the limiting factor for the size of habitats.
I got a lot of beef for the suggestion to terraform the whole ...
3
votes
2answers
275 views
What would the temperatures on a terraformed moon be like?
In the far future the moon is terraformed and maintains earth-like conditions for people to walk around freely. Gravity is a 6th of earth's. We assume the atmosphere is "well-functioning for human ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Imagine a well functioning atmosphere on the terraformed moon
Just assume we are long into the future, all other parameters have been met and we have the technology, will and money to terraform our moon and keep it so.
Atmosphere, as commonly agreed on, would ...
20
votes
6answers
6k views
What is the maximum viable speed for a projectile within earth's atmosphere?
Assume a projectile,
made of a very heat-resistant and durable material (something like tungsten), formed like a modern saboted tank cannon shot.
If tungsten, like suggested, is not ideal, you can ...
7
votes
1answer
82 views
How would the atmospheric circulation look like on a planet with high axial tilt?
Assume an Earth-Clone, that has an axial tilt of 90°. How would the circulation of the atmosphere look like? Would there still be three convection cells?
6
votes
2answers
171 views
A semi perpetual gloomy climate is possible?
I'd like to know if a climate with snowy and gloomy winters and rainy and cloudy summers is possible. Because the climate of Russia in summer is sunny enough and the Icelandic ones isn't so snowy. So ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
Gravity on the terraformed moon and its inventions [closed]
[Edited version]
In this long-into-the-future scenario the Moon has been successfully terraformed, along with other moons in our solar system. Let's just assume economics, AI and human will have made ...
20
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6answers
3k views
What is my breathable atmosphere composed of?
This planet's atmosphere has oxygen at a partial pressure that is breathable to humans, and the rest of the atmosphere is, at least, not made up primarily of Nitrogen (that is, it's not just Earth's ...
5
votes
1answer
59 views
Changing air composition on another planet
Hypothetically speaking, if we would find another planet, the size of Earth, with atmosphere as dense as Earth's atmosphere is, and we would insert (in some hypothetical way) nitrogen, oxygen and CO2 ...
7
votes
3answers
144 views
Can my planet have a very thin atmosphere only at the poles?
While thinking about Starfish Prime's answer to the question Algae using UV light from auroras for photosynthesis, I considered the possibility of an alternate Earth which has a normal, Earth-like ...
