All Questions
16
questions
2
votes
1
answer
144
views
What's the maximum mass for an Iron Planet to have a magnetosphere like Mercury's?
I'm designing an iron planet which migrated into its habitable zone. Basic research told me iron planets cool off too quickly to have a magnetic field, so initially I was looking for ways native life ...
- 317
7
votes
5
answers
499
views
How could an iron planet be geologically active?
So I have an iron planet, and its name is Randall.
Since Randall is an iron planet, he is basically the core of a planet with no crust/mantle, and very few silicates. Now, I, the creator outside of ...
- 1,702
7
votes
6
answers
1k
views
What is the maximum amount of land (percentage-wise) a habitable planet can have?
Earth is our only example of a habitable planet. The surface of Earth is 29% land and 71% ocean. I am wondering what other land ratios can create a habitable planet.
Half a billion years ago, Earth ...
- 3,809
4
votes
1
answer
107
views
What could make an exomoon sand-colored, other than just being covered in sand?
So I'm currently working on a set of scientifically plausible star systems, and I want to make one of the moons of a planet colored in patches of medium brown and pale brown dust/rock, but I can't ...
- 401
5
votes
4
answers
295
views
What would be the conditions to bring about an extremely mountainous planet
What would be the conditions of a planet for it to, over the years, form an extreme amount of mountains all across the planet. Not like a ball of spikes, just extremely mountainous.
I still want this ...
- 766
0
votes
1
answer
65
views
How do unnatural processes compare to natural geological processes in the formation of rocks & minerals? [closed]
As in an asteroid hitting a planet to make glass & other formations. Are these considered minerals? Can a crystal structure be formed?
- 605
4
votes
1
answer
363
views
How big can a whirligig/planetcake get while still maintaining human-survivable gravity at its equator?
A whirligig/planetcake/whatever punny name you want for it is a super-sized planet (we're talking about Jupiter masses here, not Earth masses) that spins so quickly that it's shaped like a pancake (...
- 13.1k
6
votes
1
answer
116
views
Could a land mass reasonably exist where I want it on my earth-like binary planet? [closed]
I've been doing a lot of research lately on my binary planet system for the series I'm writing. Some details I've already worked out:
The system's star is 0.6 solar masses, 0.8 solar radii and 0.3 ...
- 61
9
votes
5
answers
1k
views
What locations in a galaxy would be best for stone carvings to remain undamaged or worn down for as long as possible?
I want a species of alien to leave their mark throughout the galaxy with stone carvings and temples. Taking influence from ancient religious stone carvings and decoratively sculptured temples carved ...
user69935
8
votes
2
answers
681
views
What's the largest igneous province an impact event could create on Earth?
With the potential for an impact event to trigger volcanic activity on the opposite side of the planet, what is the largest plateau of flood basalt physically capable of forming on Earth, post-impact?
- 655
2
votes
1
answer
72
views
Is it possible for an impact event to render the Earth's surface unrecognizable while still forming a large complex crater?
Is it physically possible for a complex crater to form and remain stable after an impact event large enough to deform the Earth's crust globally, insofar that the surface of the planet becomes ...
- 655
9
votes
1
answer
399
views
To make a blue moon, what element does it need?
We know that Mars has a reddish color, because its ground consists of iron-based compounds. The moon is grey-whiteish because it consists mostly of silicon-based compounds.
What element should the ...
- 507
8
votes
1
answer
415
views
Where to find equations to calculate tidal heating in a binary planet/planetesimal system?
I'm building a very small homeworld (0.602 M$_e$) with a very large moon (0.0711 M$_e$) that orbit each other at a barycenter about 7.12 planetary radii (1 R = 0.870 R$_e$) from the primary's center; ...
- 747
-4
votes
4
answers
246
views
What could cause extreme gravitational effects to earth without destroying the planet outright? [closed]
What could cause extreme gravitational effects to earth without destroying the planet outright? I've thought about the effect of a a black hole but don't know enough about them. In this setting the "...
- 97
3
votes
4
answers
668
views
What would the average terraformable planets look like?
Let’s say that a "terraformable planet" is a planet who :
is in the goldilock zone of its star(s)
has around the same gravity as Earth
has a solid surface covered with minerals not too toxic for ...
- 3,388