1 - What might the days and nights be like, in terms of comparative temperatures and length, with three moons gravity and a massive orbit?
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$\begingroup$ Hi, and welcome to the stack. Generally speaking we try to enforce a one-question-per-post limit here, and you've got three, so if you want to keep your question from being closed, you should probably edit it down to just one. In the meantime, I'd recommend you hit the wikipedia pages for the Galilean moons of Jupiter and have a look at what kind of surface temperatures they have, that may help focus your question. $\endgroup$– Morris The CatCommented Dec 3, 2019 at 14:30
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$\begingroup$ Thanks Morris. I've edited the question. $\endgroup$– darkgingerbreadCommented Dec 3, 2019 at 14:34
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$\begingroup$ When you say "distant", how distant were you thinking? There are limits imposed by the constraints of circumstellar habitable zones. $\endgroup$– Starfish PrimeCommented Dec 3, 2019 at 15:31
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1 Answer
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Very, very cold. If we're assuming an earthlike planet orbiting a sol-like sun at Jupiter's distance, you'd basically wind up with something like the climate of Jupiter's moon Europa, which averages a rather inhospitable -170 degrees Centigrade.
Your Day/Night cycle could be as long or as short as you want, that's just based on the planet's rotation. You DO still want your planet to have a viable magnetic field, that requires a reasonably quick rotation (like the earth has), so I'd stick with a roughly 24-hour rotational period unless there's a reason you want something else.
The three moons wouldn't really have an effect on any of this. Earth's moon is about as large (relative to the size of the planet it orbits) as satellites get, so what you're describing is BASICALLY going to wind up being Earth, only completely frozen, with a couple extra moons in the sky. Very pretty, but not very comfortable.
As an aside, I'd suggest rather than starting with an set orbital distance and asking "What would the climate be like here", it'd be better to define what you want the climate to be like and ask what kind of orbital distance is compatible with that result.
answered Dec 3, 2019 at 14:41
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$\begingroup$ Thanks Morris The Cat. Appreciate the feedback. I'm still in the visualizing stage of this world at the moment, based on an extremely lucid dream I had. Some rethinking's required though, since an ice world doesn't suit my universe at all... $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 14:45
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$\begingroup$ I didn't think so. Keep in mind that at Jovian distance, the sun is more like a very bright star in the night sky compared to what it's like here. Even on Mars, the sun is much smaller and the daytime colder than what we get. You could potentially mitigate this by using a hotter star, but it depends on whether the objective is based on the actual orbital distance (how long your year is), or how bright/large the sun is in the sky. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 14:52
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$\begingroup$ Clearly more thinking is required Morris The Cat. I never considered year length at this stage. I have characters, races, a thin plot at this stage, but haven't really started in on the research. Stumbled across this site by accident. I feel like days and years should be longer than Earth ones, definitely. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 15:05
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$\begingroup$ Mars might be a good middle ground. A Martian Year is almost twice as long as Earth's. You can slow the day down as well, although you don't want to go TOO far in that direction because then you lose your magnetic field (which is tied to rotation) and then solar wind strips your atmosphere off. The sun is much smaller and dimmer on Mars as well, which makes it very cold, but there are ways to play with the atmosphere to mitigate that to give you a more livable temperature. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 15:29
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$\begingroup$ Thanks Morris. Things to think about. I have other questions I'll be posting in due course. Much appreciate your time. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 15:38