72
votes
Why would it be unfortunate for a day length to vary in a planet; other than that Java API developers need to work a few hours more?
It really bugs them
What you've probably misunderstood is what the term "Java developer" actually denotes. Java developers are a small mammal similar to civet cats in Indonesia both in physical ...
- 8,649
61
votes
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
People are curious
Humans, at least, are very curious. Shamans on spirit journeys, young men on adventures, and outcast groups in exile might all end up traveling into the night zone for one reason ...
- 85k
57
votes
Accepted
How do you tell time on a world with 9-year days?
Terrain objects
I imagine these nomads are following the same paths every year as they perpetually circle the planet. In that case, since there are no seasons or months, each group's time cycle would ...
- 85k
39
votes
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
If they're avoiding both the heat of the day and the cold of the night then there are dawn and dusk people.
Most likely you have four main groups, two who move constantly and two who move and settle ...
- 116k
35
votes
Terminology for 24 hour wake-sleep cycle on world with longer dark-light cycle?
Something to do wth circadian rhythm. I'd use circads.
Alternatively, something to do with biological oscillations.
Alternatively, something to do with blood pressure (or other medical metric) ...
- 3,813
33
votes
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
Total Eclipse
I know this isn't directly an answer to your question, but the novelette Nightfall by Isaac Asimov deals with a civilization living on a planet in a system with six suns which keep the ...
- 449
33
votes
How do you tell time on a world with 9-year days?
For Months/Seasons:
The terrain. Presumably they will be in the same place every nine years, and they know where they are relative to the cycle. You'd get the Month of the Great Salt Lake and so ...
- 1,283
30
votes
Could We See a Lagrange Giant in the Sky?
VERY visible
The giant planet would be at the L4 or L5 Lagrange "trojan" point of Earth around the sun.
Or, more accurately, Earth would be in the giant planet's L4 or L5 Trojan point.
...
- 26.2k
29
votes
If Earth had a smaller radius, but was rotating at the same speed, would its day be shorter?
The length of the day is strictly a function of the time earth takes to rotate. If your planet takes 24 hours to rotate then regardless of its radius, it will have a 24 hour day.
You can develop an ...
- 21.3k
27
votes
Accepted
How does a migratory species farm?
If an entire race of sapient creatures are moving, they need to take their animals, clothes, tools, houses with them. Their settlements are nomadic caravans, and the few times they get ahead of the ...
- 14.3k
27
votes
How does a migratory species farm?
On a planet with a 9-year day/night cycle, some plants will adapt to that cycle. They will lay down roots in the day cycle, and then die off for four and a half years, only to spring back to life when ...
- 85k
26
votes
Could it be possible to be near-blind in daylight yet see perfectly at night?
It's entirely possible.
Have you ever had your eyes dilated at the doctor's office? It makes your pupils very large because the muscles to contract them are temporarily paralyzed. If you go outside ...
- 48.3k
25
votes
Accepted
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
The poles provide the ability to stay on either side safely.
Since the planet has a relatively small axial tilt (13 degrees), the North and South poles of this planet shouldn't be incredibly cold ...
- 20.5k
25
votes
Accepted
Is it plausible for a world without an external universe to develop a year system?
Frame Challenge: Why do you need a year / calendar system? Perhaps your people don't care about time? What are they measuring time for? Aron says that for us:
The calendar was invented due to the ...
- 4,446
24
votes
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
Visual Discovery in Dark Areas
If your scenario allows for people to venture into dark areas where stars are visible to the naked eye, then certainly that will be the easiest way for people to ...
- 6,341
23
votes
On a world where everyone is nomadic, how does civilization start?
Your inhabitants could be following big herds of animals, migrating in the same way they do.
If the animals are big, you basically have familiar clans joining to hunt them. Soon, they snatch a few ...
- 5,870
23
votes
Possible explanations for abnormal day/night cycle?
One possibility is with a highly eccentric (elliptical) orbit, plus axial tilt.
The orbits of the planets are mostly circular, so the periods of constant night at the poles are roughly equal to the ...
- 331
21
votes
How long would humanity survive if a sudden eternal night occurs?
Frame Challenge
I believe you're asking the wrong question. Your vampires are smart enough to know that humans need food to survive and nearly all human food depends on sunlight. Take away the sun and ...
- 110k
20
votes
Accepted
Could it be possible to be near-blind in daylight yet see perfectly at night?
There are two types of cells in mammalian eyes - rods and cones.
Rods are long photoreceptor cells that are highly sensitive to light, and are of use primarily in night vision, yet we have only one ...
- 48.3k
20
votes
Terminology for 24 hour wake-sleep cycle on world with longer dark-light cycle?
NASA does already face this problem with its Mars rovers (since both visibility and power from solar panels require daylight):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timekeeping_on_Mars
Full sunrise-to-...
- 10.7k
20
votes
Accepted
What would days and nights look like on this cylindrical world?
Let me start with the additional problems that arise:
The trajectory of the suns is not stable. If they are slightly off-center, gravity will pull them towards the side of the cylinder that they're ...
- 416
18
votes
Is it plausible for a world without an external universe to develop a year system?
You ask if it is plausible to develop the concept of a year. Calendars were made because there's a need to keep track of time due to argicultral, astronomical or religious reasons.
As you said in your ...
- 411
17
votes
Accepted
On a world where everyone is nomadic, how does civilization start?
The earliest civilizations started in great river valleys, like Sumer (Mesopotamia), Egypt (Nile), China (Yangtze) and India (Ganges). This was because the land near the rivers was easy to irrigate ...
- 6,041
17
votes
How long would humanity survive if a sudden eternal night occurs?
Two to five years.
Most of the population would likely die very quickly from the colder weather and the lack of food. Some nations would likely have a year or two of food stored.
War and seizing the ...
- 35.2k
16
votes
How do you tell time on a world with 9-year days?
Does/can the planet have a moon? If it had several small fast moons like Mars, then that's a perfect external reference point.
For instance, Phobos has an 8 hour orbit, and Deimos has a 30 hour ...
- 34.5k
16
votes
How do I calculate the hours of daylight on an arbitrary planet for a given day at a given latitude?
A graphical method
Sometimes a graphical method may be easier to understand and remember.
One year is the time required for the planet to complete one full orbit around its primary. You decide how ...
- 82.3k
15
votes
Would a species that migrates across the globe discover its roundness sooner?
If we put aside the "mythology" on the flat earth believer of ancient times, we can see that the awareness of the planet being round was well spread even before circumnavigation was possible: ...
- 266k
15
votes
Accepted
Could I have an earth-like planet from which sun and moon would never be simultaneously visible?
Decrease the brightness of your moon, and make it invisible during the day.
By making the surface of your moon darker, you reduce its brightness due to light reflection (albedo). Cover it with black ...
- 1,188
14
votes
Accepted
How long could life survive The Night?
I do not believe life could evolve under such conditions but I see no reason to think the world would need to be lifeless.
Plants. There are two survival options here:
We have a very common class ...
- 30.2k
14
votes
How would people living in eternal day learn that stars exist?
In addition to the three good answers so far received, the people of your planet would almost certainly be able to see certain astronomical objects by daylight. On Earth even in daytime we can ...
- 9,236
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