All Questions
2,759 questions
21
votes
5
answers
28k
views
What factors determine a planet's gravity?
In Science Fiction we often see the protagonists exploring all sorts of strange new worlds with no apparent discomfort to the variations in gravity.
What factors determine how strong the gravity will ...
- 18.7k
82
votes
21
answers
10k
views
Is it physically possible for a planet to have seasons of different lengths?
Those of you who have read Game Of Thrones will know that in the GOT world seasons do not have a fixed duration, e.g., a winter might last three times longer than the previous one.
I find most ...
- 2,177
62
votes
15
answers
41k
views
Would the human body support living on planets with a greater gravity than Earth?
I once read a novel about a prison-planet which was chosen to make the prisoners suffer. One of the different "tortures" was a gravity three times higher than that on Earth.
Would the human body ...
- 2,177
16
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Would a human individual adapt to a change in the day-night cycle?
I'm thinking on the colonizing of another planet by humans. The conditions of this planet are quite different from Earth, and particularly the day-night cycle is much larger.
In my fictional planet, ...
- 2,177
27
votes
5
answers
2k
views
What physical and social effects could two stars cause?
Suppose a planetary system works in such a way that there is a rotating planet in the direct centre of a binary star (the star system's centre of gravity, also known as barycenter), such that the two ...
- 958
37
votes
8
answers
3k
views
Are "planet of hats" realistic?
Planet of hats is the name of a trope where all inhabitants of a planet share a defining characteristic, of which there are many sub-tropes like environment or economy. I'd like to focus on the ...
- 2,850
120
votes
7
answers
45k
views
How would having multiple moons affect tides?
We know that planets can have multiple moons, sometimes quite a few (like Jupiter). Assuming that a planet with several moons were habitable in the first place and has significant oceans (greater ...
- 19.6k
29
votes
6
answers
4k
views
What is the smallest planet that a civilisation could develop on?
The size of a planet affects its gravity, its climate, and its likelihood of developing life.
Earth is large enough for an advanced civilization to develop. A smaller body such as Europa, while able ...
- 392
78
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Are geographically typed planets realistic?
In many science fictions we see planets which are designated by a particular terrain type. For example, Dagobah is a swamp planet, Tatooine is a desert planet, and Kamino is an ocean world.
However, ...
- 18.7k