All Questions
Tagged with planets science-fiction
157 questions
120
votes
17
answers
15k
views
Which major solar system body could most realistically be artificial?
Which body in the Solar System is the best candidate for being an artificial construct, placed there by a Kardashev Type II Civilization?
Some notes:
The purpose of this body is to monitor earth, ...
- 2,889
53
votes
16
answers
6k
views
What kind of recurring phenomena could cast darkness on a planet for days/weeks at a time?
A century ago, after a catastrophic event on our planet, many of us were were forced to find a new home. There was one world that caught our attention: a tidally-locked blue planet orbiting a red ...
- 653
45
votes
3
answers
6k
views
So we glassed it, now what?
"Glassing" a planet is a common ultimate tactic in Science Fiction, basically it consists in using high power energy weapons to destroy all life on the planet and reducing the soil and rock of the ...
- 51k
36
votes
16
answers
9k
views
Signs of wealth in a world where private planet ownership is common
In my far-future world, owning a planet or moon is as common as owning a house. People usually have a large house, with an adjacent farm for their own sustenance that is usually tended by robots. ...
- 6,305
34
votes
20
answers
7k
views
My planet has a long period orbit. How can I make the seasons change faster in order to shorten the length of a calendar year on it?
I wanted a habitable planet around a binary star system, so I conjured up a system that let me have one.
The problem that I'm facing is that the goldilocks orbital parameters for this planed ended up ...
- 9,143
29
votes
16
answers
4k
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Why might a planetary recon craft need to be manned?
The story situation is that a generation ship is headed to another solar system where there are several planets in the star's habitable zone and once the ship arrives, it will approach these planets ...
- 435
28
votes
21
answers
5k
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Why do people still live on earthlike planets?
Like our good SciFi prophet Isaac Arthur postulates, for a civilization with a decent space presence planets are overrated and rubbish.
They're down there in the deep gravity well.
There is no ...
- 9,143
17
votes
10
answers
3k
views
How could a subterranean alien lifeform develop space travel?
I have a sentient lifeform populating an Earth-like planet in terms of gravity / composition. But since that world is close to an old K Type star, the atmosphere is evaporating and letting UV rays ...
- 291
15
votes
9
answers
2k
views
In the shadow of a planet (science fiction)
I'm trying to come up with a scenario involving a mining base built on a planet that may only be approached from the shadowed side; the star (or other body) allows only that narrow lane of approach. ...
- 424
14
votes
13
answers
5k
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Planet Vanishes - How does this affect the orbiting starships?
In the climactic final battle Faction A engages Faction B on Faction B's planetary base, both in orbital and ground combat. Realizing they can't win, Faction A activates a device that transports and ...
- 3,200
14
votes
18
answers
4k
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How would Earth turn into debris drifting through space without everything at its surface being destroyed in the process?
Consider planet Earth in a distant future. Human technology has advanced, although it still respects the currently known laws of physics. I am trying to build a story where:
An Event makes it so the ...
- 151
13
votes
14
answers
5k
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Is it possible for one star to orbit another?
I'm dealing with a planet very similar to Earth, except that it has two suns. So, of course, it would be an extraordinary occasion when the inhabitants of the planet see only one sun in the sky. So ...
- 1,042
13
votes
6
answers
4k
views
How would someone destroy a black hole that’s at the centre of a planet? [duplicate]
For starters, the black hole is temporarily contained. But once it’s containment fails it will devour the planet. Obviously, that’s a bad thing. What’s a reasonable way to prevent that?
Also the ...
- 131
13
votes
3
answers
3k
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I'm formulating a planet that has silver dust on its surface, and ideally has rivers of mercury flowing on it, possible? Human survival not necessary
I'm new to this and my scientific knowledge is massively lacking in this area (so please take it easy on me!) I'm writing a historical science-fiction novel. Parts of it set in the past (1977) and ...
- 131
12
votes
16
answers
6k
views
Why would most species avoid democracy?
In my world, there are humans (often called Earthlings) and eight alien species.
Humans have an Earth government best described as a democratic quinquevirate: to be exact, this is an elective semi-...
- 5,372
12
votes
9
answers
7k
views
Is it biologically possible for one species to need another species to reproduce?
I'm writing a speculative story about a planet in another Solar System. On this planet, there are five types of reproduction strategies amongst the sapient species. There are androgenic, gynogenics, ...
- 5,370
12
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How to remove Saturn’s rings?
So oblate spheroid man is mad. One of his oblate spheroids has these nasty rings on it and he cannot watch it rotate in peace. So he dispatches Mr. Skeeble to get rid of them. Mr. Skeeble gets to ...
- 2,092
12
votes
11
answers
477
views
What might cause an exoplanet to be uninhabitable for periods, that is not obvious to potential colonizers?
I am writing a science fiction short story, which is loosely about terraforming. The drama takes place on a terraforming site, which has been halted, in its early phases, due to the discovery that the ...
- 147
12
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Could a planet orbiting a star have a habitable moon and this moon have its own moon orbiting it?
Could a star system exist where a body orbiting the star has an inhabited planet moon orbiting it instead of the sun? And the inhabited planet moon has its own smaller satellite.
I have very little ...
- 141
12
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Single biome (hot) desert planet, possible?
I have the below snippet describing a planet in a (hard) sci-fi setting. This harsh planet has some human settlers, who can survive the climate in light weight environmental suits.
The planet is a ...
- 704
11
votes
7
answers
3k
views
How would a Crystalline species send a probe into space?
I'm creating an Alien race based on Silica-Quartz crystals. While their planet is inhospitable to humans, the tectonically and volcanically active surface has created an abundance of crystalline forms,...
11
votes
13
answers
3k
views
Why would War Of The Worlds happen?
I've lately been looking at a lot of War of the Worlds remakes/spinoffs, like the 2005 film, the 2013 mockumentary The Great Martian War, and of course, the tabletop game All Quiet on the Martian ...
- 1,604
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Desert planet with forests at the poles
I'm thinking up a Mars or Venus type planet where the poles (or one pole) has a forest growing out of it due to a device that is used to make the planet more habitable by creating a oxygen friendly ...
- 145
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there a way to generate energy using a planet's angular momentum?
The most common answer is "tidal forces" "wind" since all of these are by-products of the planet's Coriolis force.
Or there are rnd into generating energy from the earth's magnetic ...
- 461
11
votes
2
answers
338
views
Would a rotating ring (halo) help regulate the habitability of a tidal locked planet?
I'm working on a sci-fi/fantasy story that involves a future earth that has become tidal locked with the sun. Part of the story has an advanced civilization that has built a ring (halo) that circles ...
- 113
10
votes
13
answers
8k
views
Destroy a Planet inside a black hole?
Imagine a race whom have mastered the knowledge of black holes, at least a bit.
They've found a way survive, with their planet intact, inside the gravitation of the black hole without getting ...
- 1,270
10
votes
5
answers
731
views
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 ...
- 497
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can someone help me with ocean currents? I'm really confused
I've been working on a constructed world which started out as the home of an alien race from a sci-fi story I'm writing but just became a pure world building project.
As you can see from the map it ...
9
votes
10
answers
2k
views
Why would humans build / send sample humanoid robots on an alien planet before humans arriving themselves?
Humans can send rovers and machines on other planets to navigate or to establish bases before human occupation begins. These rovers and machines are non-humanoid and suited to their mission roles. ...
- 597
9
votes
6
answers
792
views
Mining Suns For Terraforming?
In my story, I have a fairly advanced human race who is at the point they want to start terraforming planets. Of course, all of the materials necessary have to come from somewhere, and the proposed ...
- 7,026
9
votes
10
answers
605
views
What would be a good reason for space colonists to lose their technology?
In my universe, humans nuked themselves in a war so thoroughly that the Earth has been rendered uninhabitable. As a result, they have to leave Earth and find a new home. They briefly tried to settle ...
- 6,042
9
votes
4
answers
581
views
How many people can my Spire world support?
Alright so I have this big colony ship/artificial world and I need to figure out what kind of population it can support. I’ll cut right to the chase and give you the details.
Length: About 1,000,000 ...
- 5,293
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Mars sized planet with 83% Earth gravity?
For one of my stories I’ve developed a planet with approximately the same total surface area as Mars. This planet has high quantities of heavier metals/elements (especially silver) and it has roughly ...
- 367
8
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How can I make a planet covered in ice with an ocean beneath the surface?
In a story I have been working on, there is a planet called Ieuclite. I want to have its surface be entirely covered in ice and have the people live in cracks and fissures. But then I thought, what if ...
- 419
8
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Plausibility of purple oceans
Alright, so I've been meaning to write out a planet with golden/yellow fields and a violet / purple ocean.
What I was thinking about is having the water of this world is so clean and nourishing that ...
8
votes
3
answers
673
views
Is it plausible that Venus was once swampy and reasonably habitable to Earth-like beings?
I plan to write a novel set on old Venus. What I mean by this is that it is set on a Venus where it was still thought to be a swampy planet. I know that is an unlikely past, but I have read oceans may ...
- 305
8
votes
3
answers
652
views
If I made a plant that could float between clouds, what would it look like?
If I had complete control over the plant's appearance, what would be the best shape for it?
I need the plant to be able to float between the clouds. It doesn't have to spend its whole life cycle ...
- 1,460
8
votes
2
answers
487
views
Balanced but Factionally Divided Government System for my Mars Colony
QUESTION: Would this system of government be effective, and if so (why) and if not (why)?
What I'm mostly looking for here is a reality-check or improvements / observations on how my proposed ...
- 151
8
votes
1
answer
194
views
What would the physical properties of this planetary system be?
The Idea: A planetary system composed of many interconnected nodes and small bodies in a semi-stable arrangement, with much shorter distances between astronomical bodies than our own Solar System. It'...
- 231
7
votes
3
answers
455
views
Would it be possible for a planet to temporarily block another planets daylight consistently so that the nights seem longer than the days?
The planet I have in mind is slightly larger than Mars and is located in the system behind a planet about twice the size of Earth.
The effect being almost like a solar eclipse that happens daily (If ...
6
votes
11
answers
3k
views
What would justify those road like structures
Working on a sci-fi project, similar to well known properties, in which real world road maps play a role, but need to justify them in world on a planet where people don't build on the surface.
I have ...
- 69
6
votes
15
answers
949
views
How can I make the Solar System uninhabitable?
For the Universe I am creating humanity has devolved into groups of scattered tribes. This is due to the fact that we ran afoul of a really nasty alien race, who decided to leave us homeless. A ...
6
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How could Venus be partially terraformed?
In my setting, Venus is still very much still hostile to a normal human without equipment, but isn't hot enough to melt lead and has a relatively low pressure compared to now.
How could this ...
user73401
6
votes
5
answers
2k
views
What changes does physics require for a hollow earth?
Lets just assume I want a Hollow earth, similar to movies like the Monsterverse, etc, but without the plant/animal life. what changes does earth's structure or physics require for that?
Around the ...
- 173
6
votes
8
answers
441
views
How would an advanced civilization on a space station not be able to explore the planet they orbit without significant time between each expedition?
Extremely advanced civilization on a computerized space station orbiting a desolate uninhabited planet. There are no other known civilizations within this station's sphere of observation. Not many ...
- 195
6
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Can a planet have a different gravitational pull depending on its location in orbit around its sun?
As the title say, can a planet have a different gravitational pull depending on its location in orbit around its sun?
Is this explainable without magic?
- 61
6
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Illuminating Minerva?
It would be convenient for both astrophysics and for the plot of the story set in this world if there exists a ninth planet in the Solar System far outside Pluto’s orbit (with appropriate mass, Ap, Pe,...
- 6,982
6
votes
6
answers
877
views
Methods for simulating low gravity on high-g planets
There are a lot of solutions for living in low gravity environments. (e.g. centripetal acceleration, linear thrust, etc.)
But what about living on high gravity planets? Is there anyway to build or ...
- 995
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
What is a material that might be missing on a planet that the inhabitants of said planet need to go pick up on a gas giant nearby?
I have this Earth-like planet that is running short on materials, like minerals and gasses, and they have a big spaceship that is able to gather materials from a gas giant that orbits the same star ...
- 63
6
votes
9
answers
761
views
Could Mars' air pressure (assuming terraforming) be high enough to sustain humans without pressure suits but low enough to prohibit flight?
I'm looking for a reason to keep humans living on Mars on the ground, and - apart from storms - the very slowly rising air pressure is the best I can come up with, since planes do need significant air ...
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