All Questions
Tagged with planets xenobiology
82 questions
20
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Physiological adaptation of life on a planet orbiting a red giant.
Let's say there exists an Earth-like exoplanet which orbits a normal star, with a similar process regarding the evolution of life on earth, yet the star became a red giant during said evolution.
...
- 1,018
16
votes
13
answers
2k
views
How did aliens on a habitable planet hide themselves during the recon and scouting stage by human colonists?
We've found a habitable planet orbiting a red dwarf star some light years away and conditions are Earth-like enough that a colonization project was initiated. Before any humans landed on the planet, a ...
- 1,463
16
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How would a free floating ecosystem on an ocean world function?
The world in question is an Earth-sized planet with a deep global ocean and core of water-ice.
Given the lack of an accessible sea floor to root oneself to, how would a complex free-floating organism ...
- 495
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
On a planet with larger gravity, would aquatic creatures be larger or smaller?
It is somewhat common knowledge in the worldbuilding community that larger planets leads to smaller land creatures, because larger planets means more gravity gets bigger and that makes it harder to ...
- 1,351
15
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How far could a planet be from its star and still be kept habitable by intense greenhouse gases?
Epimetheus is a planet with about three times the mass of Earth orbiting a sun-like star in the Andromeda galaxy. However, two major factors separate Epimetheus from Earth. First, it has a thick ...
- 46.5k
14
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How can life which cannot live on the surface of a planet naturally reach the supermajority of the planet's caves?
I want to create a setting focusing on a planet where nearly all complex macroscopic life lives underground, but I keep running into a problem: If a complex organism is adapted to cave life to such a ...
- 2,242
13
votes
10
answers
4k
views
How much time is needed to judge an Earth-like planet to be safe?
A colony ship has been sent to deep space to colonize an earth-like planet. Through astronomical spectroscopy, the atmospheric composition was found to be suitable for human life. But of course, ...
- 1,023
13
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Minimum amount of land a planet can have and still be habitable?
I read in a paper, posted by L.Dutch, that:
It turns out that water worlds may be some of the worst places to look for living things. One study presented at the meeting shows how a planet covered in ...
- 589
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
3
answers
690
views
What would be the human physiological reaction to an alien biosphere?
This is the first question about colonizing an alien world; the second question on agriculture on this planet is here.
So here's the idea: human beings travel to and land on an Earth-like world with ...
- 371
10
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Life underneath a blue star
Blue stars are notorious for burning too bright and living too briefly for life to develop around them. But is there some way that life could survive long enough to reach the sentience stage? I'm ...
- 3,202
10
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Would it be possible for an Earth-like planet to have multiple moons with diverse biomes capable of supporting life?
Thanks for taking a moment to help me understand the feasibility of this scenario. Essentially, what I am looking at is an Earth-like world that would be between 1.3x and 1.6x the mass of our own ...
- 103
10
votes
1
answer
492
views
Creating a planetary system that can support six different types of biochemistry
First type - Fluorosilicones in Fluorosilicones, 400° to 500° C
Second type - Fluorocarbons in Molten Sulfur, 113° to 445° C
Third type - Proteins in Water, 0° to 100° C
Fourth type - Proteins ...
- 2,319
10
votes
2
answers
337
views
A planet with acid rains but its atmosphere is breathable
I am trying to create a planet that rains acid, and that has acidic oceans of water, but a breathable nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere.
This planet has native lifeforms that have evolved to withstand these ...
- 147
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Could a planet with 0.9 Surface gravity retain this atmosphere?
I have a planet with a surface gravity of 0.9 times that of Earth, and an escape velocity of 11.3 km/s, and a temperature like Earth's. My question is if it could retain a breathable atmosphere (for ...
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How would oceans of supercritical CO2 on Venus-like exoplanets look like/behave?
Carbon dioxide turns supercritical above a pressure of 73 atm and 304.25 K (31.10 °C). The surface of Venus fullfils these conditions.
The density of the air at the surface is 67 kg/m3, which is 6....
- 17.2k
8
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Is a planet sized creature possible?
Now, I have started working on a game called In The Flesh, and I have decided to use this site to work on it.
The Game Itself
In any case, the main idea of In The Flesh is that it's a sci-fi ...
- 83
8
votes
4
answers
479
views
NASA discovery: 1 star, 7 planets, multiple in habitable zone. How would this affect life on the planets?
I have left a link to the NASA video in case you are not to sure what I am referring to or to get a better picture of what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnKFaAS30X8
With that ...
- 363
8
votes
3
answers
653
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
3
answers
7k
views
Life on a gas giant?
I know of the conceptualized "Sinkers", "Floaters" and "Hunters" that Carl Sagan and Edwin Salpeter of Cornell conceived of - as possible life forms that might inhabit a gas giant. At the time they ...
- 165
8
votes
3
answers
272
views
Surviving a dark hycean world
A dark hycean world is supposed to be a hot water world with a thick atmosphere around a red dwarf star. This means it's tidally locked with one side forever facing the sun and the other forever ...
- 3,202
7
votes
10
answers
346
views
Plausible reasons for multiple hot seasons in one solar year
Setup:
A planet generally with an earthlike climate, although slightly wetter and warmer as a general rule, with a little more oxygen in the atmosphere, but habitable by unmodified humans. Still has ...
- 589
7
votes
2
answers
338
views
On an Ice Planet orbiting a Black Hole, could Jungles live in Geothermal Pockets?
The Rygyphae are a species that lives in the geothermal pockets, areas heated by volcanic activity. The rest of the planet is nothing but frozen ice and rock, but these pockets are lush jungles full ...
- 4,741
6
votes
7
answers
1k
views
How did the vast nexus of hollows, caves and a thriving underworld on this alien planet come to be?
I had a unique idea for an alien planet. The surface would be snow-capped mountains and glacial fields, it's cold and essentially devoid of most life. But just underneath the towering mountains ...
- 2,333
6
votes
4
answers
714
views
Cool way to see through fog and darkness
My planet is frequently set with thick fog. What is the best way to have its residents see accurately?
One species called Hell Fires fall from the sky, landing on top of prey and killing it. How ...
- 620
6
votes
3
answers
382
views
Plausibility of life emerging and evolving on gas giant moons?
I have been working on the setting for a hard speculative biology/evolution project that for now will simply be referred to as the Gemini Project, and the main issue I've been having is whether or not ...
- 511
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Methane-Breathing Animal?
In my story, Saturn’s moon Titan’s methane lakes are inhabited by microorganisms that photosynthesize, converting hydrogen into methane (A process thought possible on Titan after some study). This ...
- 581
6
votes
2
answers
188
views
How can I get mostly-hydrogen-sulfide seas (with lifeforms in them)?
The lifeforms don't have to use hydrogen sulfide as a solvent. Maybe they've got an internal water-ammonia eutectic mixture or something; anyway, it doesn't matter. The point is, I want an ocean of ...
- 42.7k
6
votes
1
answer
349
views
Alternate Biology/Xenoforming:Could the moon have a Chlorine atmosphere?
So I have this idea that a super advanced being travels across the galaxy and is terraforming/xenoforming every planet that CAN be modified for life, not just Carbon based Earthlike lifeforms but ...
- 1,019
6
votes
3
answers
496
views
Is this Martian creature plausible?
I am thinking of writing a story about a Martian civilization. It might involve humans, but, I think it will be more interesting if there are creatures adapted to the Martian lifestyle as well. So, ...
- 4,165
6
votes
1
answer
244
views
Oceans of breathable liquid
I want to create a locale (hopefully a whole planet?), where the ocean is breathable. I was looking at perfluorocarbons, so the liquid part is at least possible(?)
Is there any way to create a world ...
- 4,948
6
votes
2
answers
269
views
Vision on Titan/Early Earth and the technicalities of a creature seeing in near infrared
I am trying to develop an alien species that could live on Titan and at first I supposed it would be easy with the species being able to use yellow, red and near-infrared wavelengths of light to see.
...
- 151
6
votes
2
answers
413
views
What ecosystems and possible sentient creatures would form in subterranean pockets?
I am building a science fiction universe, and I am currently thinking of many different unique sentient alien species that would populate the galaxy.
I have thought of a rocky planet with Earth level ...
- 165
6
votes
5
answers
527
views
Would complex life evolve on this planet, and could humans survive on it without much outside help?
Okay, as an extension of my previous question, I'm just going to lay bare all the details I've written down about this planet (including corrections from my last question), and ask the big question ...
- 11.3k
5
votes
2
answers
480
views
Would a life-bearing Earth-like world with 3g average gravity produce more or fewer flying creatures than Earth?
On one hand, heavier gravity would make flying more difficult, owing to greater weight restrictions on the flying creatures' bodies.
On the other hand, the greater density of the atmosphere on our ...
- 491
5
votes
1
answer
319
views
Origin of life on a waterworld
Take a planet like Gliese 1214 B, which has no land, an ocean 100s of kilometres deep and a seabed of Ice VII. For the purposes of the question, let's assume that the pressure and/or temperature near ...
- 14.9k
5
votes
2
answers
468
views
What would the climate of the moon be like if it were big enough to have an atmosphere?
Suppose we had reached the moon and found it to be habitable. It was big enough to support an atmosphere, albeit a thinner one than the Earth has, and at some point in the past few hundred million ...
- 46.5k
5
votes
3
answers
203
views
Can a perpetually darkening atmosphere exist and yet still allow life to evolve?
I am creating a science fiction worldbuilding project, in which humanity has colonised distant exoplanets. One such planet is a Venus-like planet in the sense that it has a perpetual cloud cover, ...
- 170
5
votes
2
answers
544
views
Long lasting life on interstellar planets?
A short time ago I read that life might be possible on interstellar planets (i.e. planet-like objects which aren't bound to a star by gravity.) They may be insanely cold on the surface but inside they ...
- 668
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What methods could this alien race use to terraform the Earth so it resembles their homeworld?
Some information about their homeworld:
Their homeworld, 0.34247 (M⊕) 0.54 G, 10156 km.
The atmospheric pressure of their homeworld is 62% of the Earth's, and the planet has an average temperature ...
- 2,319
4
votes
3
answers
443
views
How Can a High Gravity Planet Have a Magnetic Field
We all like life forms from high gravity planets, it’s a popular Sci fi trope and one that I love to play around with. It’s fascinating to try and designs creatures for an environment that would ...
- 2,333
4
votes
2
answers
338
views
A bacterial organism that survives on the surface of Venus
Yes, you read the title right.
Naturally this cannot be DNA/RNA based, the highest temperature organisms have survived as we know it is 122 degrees celsius and Venus surface is 4 times hotter on ...
- 1,048
4
votes
2
answers
447
views
How can I make a Venusian computer?
In my story, the humans of Earth have finally made the trek to Venus, and have discovered a previously unknown life form on Venus. On closer inspection of the mucus creatures, they seem to have the ...
- 4,581
4
votes
2
answers
237
views
How would plants obtain helium on an earth-like planet?
My question is how would plants obtain helium in land?, mainly for floating in a high surface pressure atmosphere (maybe around 1.5 atm?), or at least its seeds or tiny parts of them, also it is ...
4
votes
2
answers
295
views
Low G vs High G planets and floating species
So, i want to make a planet with these requirements:
A higher surface pressure than earth, and an atmosphere that could last long enough for intelligent life to appear.
(If possible), medium or large ...
4
votes
6
answers
628
views
How to make an Old Solar System planet Venus scientifically possible?
The "Old Solar System" is our solar system as described in many space operas and planetary romances written before the space age.
https://www.solarsystemheritage.com/
In stories in the Old ...
- 31k
4
votes
3
answers
971
views
How would aircraft and air-life develop on High-G, Lower-Atmosphere planet?
I'm (slowly) working on a semi sci-fi world, set in a WWII-ish tech level (Semi sci-fi being how they got to this world). Except in this world, aircraft have developed significantly later, and ...
- 11.6k
4
votes
1
answer
262
views
What kind of world could produce polyoxometallate life?
There has been some cool work in synthetic life to produce cells based on polyoxometalate ions, certain metal oxide complexes have been shown to have autocatalytic behavior, and heteropolymetalate ...
- 42.7k
4
votes
2
answers
894
views
Adaptations for an ice planet?
My planet is a frozen world. Roughly the size of earth and in a perpetual ice age. The planet has very cold temperatures at night and during the day its surface becomes very bright. The intense solar ...
user69494
3
votes
3
answers
293
views
If we accidentally spread microorganisms to other planets in our solar system, could they evolve into complex life?
Is the following story plausible: a spacecraft transports microorganisms from Earth to another planet or moon in our solar system. Those microorganisms survive, and eventually, evolve into complex ...
- 133