All Questions
11 questions
11
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are the requirements for an atmosphere retaining moon with a stable orbit around an Earth-like planet with non-destructive tidal forces?
For story writing purposes I would like a realistic setup where there is a planet with close to earth conditions in terms of gravity, relative position to the sun etc. However I aim to have a much ...
10
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Giving a Planet Sunburn
How can I make a colonizable planet/moon that receives intense UV/x-ray radiation on parts of its surface while receiving much less on the rest of it?
The most obvious way of doing this is to have the ...
- 1,768
6
votes
3
answers
796
views
Could a Titan-like moon orbit a terrestrial planet?
Could a terrestrial planet (1x diameter and mass up to 1.5x diameter and mass) hold a Titan-like (dense atmosphere, relatively large size, weather) realistically in its orbit? If not, how large would ...
- 170
6
votes
5
answers
1k
views
If our moon had an atmosphere, could it have seasons?
Because our moon is tidally locked with Earth, then the same half always faces the Earth regardless of where the Moon is in its orbit. As such, would a tidally locked satellite such as our moon (...
- 61
5
votes
4
answers
856
views
What are some of the ramifications and consequences of this world's'"exoticness"?
For my Science-Fantasy WIP I am considering using a single artificial planet (roughly the size of a Dyson Sphere) and its moons (of which only three are large enough to exert any real influence) as my ...
- 3,931
4
votes
1
answer
197
views
How plausible is this planetary system with binary stars?
In my world, I have a binary S-type Solar System of Star-A and Star-B with these properties:
Star-A:
Luminosity: 0.86822 Sol / Mass: 0.98097 Sol / Radius: 0.91958 Sol / Radius of Hill Sphere: ~37.218 ...
- 543
3
votes
5
answers
662
views
How can this habitable planet have a moon with a naturally occurring atmosphere?
Assuming the planet is earth-like, with more surface water and atmospheric oxygen, and within the habitable zone of a sun-like star, how can a moon orbiting this planet retain a thick atmosphere?
The ...
- 1,193
3
votes
1
answer
122
views
Geological activity and of superearth - cannonball moon system
I understand that this situation is hypothetical -- I just need a piece of advice to make it more realistic.
In my story, there is a superearth of 4,5 Earth masses and 1,35 Earth's radius, rotating ...
- 31
2
votes
3
answers
498
views
What could cause the formation of canyons and river pattern in a atmosphereless moon?
So I've made this moon with a texture from Google earth,
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tassili+n'Ajjer/@26.2042919,7.0063722,457055m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x12306aaaaaaaaaa7:0xa1414e994aabc4b6!...
- 632
1
vote
2
answers
185
views
What would happen if a Europa-like moon "thawed"? [closed]
I have a planet and moon system orbiting a high mass star, something like a type A main sequence. Everything is only a short two billion years old, but the star is already starting to expand, warming ...
- 309
1
vote
1
answer
66
views
Could a substantial atmosphere protect a large moon from radiation belts like those seen in Jupiter's magnetosphere?
I'm imagining a moon with a mass of 0.25M (so 10 times larger than Ganymede), in Ganymede's position orbiting a gas giant like Jupiter. Maybe the atmosphere is anywhere from 0.1 - 1 bar. Would the ...
- 985