Questions tagged [habitability]
For questions asking about the conditions which are required for the development of life as we know it.
291 questions
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Where on the surface of the Earth would be best to start a colony from scratch? [closed]
I have been tasked by my College Writing professor to write an essay my choice of real people from my personal life to recolonize the Earth. I am looking for inspiration as to where this would take ...
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What's the maximum size limit for an Earthlike shellworld?
While the title does look similar to this one, it's actually not.
For anyone not in the know, a shellworld is a popular sci-fi megastructure in which a hollow shell envelops a planet, a star or--in ...
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Using Lithium pills to reduce Nitrogen Narcosis in a thick atmosphere
My planet’s atmospheric dry air composition (not including non-toxic trace gases)
My planet’s atmosphere has a very high partial pressure of Nitrogen, which will cause humans to have Nitrogen Narcosis ...
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Long-term stability for a terrestrial planet with rings and a large sub-synchronous moon
Terrestrial earth-like planet with rings and moon (to scale, this was found in SpaceEngine and I love how it looks).
Rough Luna vs my moon apparent angular size comparison (Luna = 0.52°, my moon = ~4°...
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Is it possible for plant life to evolve (and adapt) on a low CO2 planet?
C4 photosynthesis, which can operate in Carbon Dioxide levels as low as 10ppm
A question related to these two questions:
Habitable inner planet with large oceans, fast rotation and earth-like ...
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Habitable inner planet with large oceans, fast rotation and earth-like atmosphere
According to several articles (such as this post), a habitable inner planet (more than 1.1x Earth’s insolation) could realistically form with liquid water (and avoid turning Venusian) through the ...
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Is a desert planet with a small habitable area possible?
My world takes place on a desert planet, but there is a small habitable forest with water and life. My main inspiration for this is Halem'no from star trek, but without a weather tower sustaining the ...
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Can a star that initially started with less energy output than the sun (when it was young) evolve to be as luminous as the sun in the same time period
According to this work and worldbuilding pasta’s predictions on the water condensation inner limit for stellar habitable zones, a star like the sun cannot have a planet with liquid water on its ...
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If ancient Venus really were once habitable, what was its atmospheric composition and average surface temperature? [closed]
Some sources claim that billions of years ago, Venus may have had much cooler temperatures, enough for liquid water on it’s surface and these clouds on the day-side of Venus would raise Venus’ albedo ...
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How much Methane could reasonably exist on a world with 6% (60,000 ppm) Oxygen in the atmosphere?
Let’s say I have a world that has an atmosphere similar to both Titan (lots of Nitrogen and organic compounds) and Earth during the Boring Billion. Oxygen is present on this world, but only about the ...
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Precipitation on an outer exomoon heated by tidal heating
Following this question, how would rain behave on an outer system habitable moon (>5AU from a sun-like star) heated by tidal-heating? According to this page, an outer planet or moon with low ...
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Stability in my habitable planet orbiting a binary system
I'm making a worldbuilding project mainly focussed arround an habitable planet that orbits a binary system and I have a question about my system.
My planetary system is an S-type (A main star in the ...
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Could Jupiter-like planet be able to radiate energy to sustain life on satellite?
I remember being taught about Jupiter being believed to be a failed Sun. I also am aware that Jupiter releases energy like the Sun. I am sure some of this is in relation to the sun as well. But due to ...
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Causes of extreme seasons on an Earth-like planet such that humans need to migrate
I am thinking of an Earth-like planet that has extreme seasons (temperature) such that the humans (or other lifeforms) living there need to systematically migrate (probably twice per year) from one ...
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What should the core mass fraction of a habitable planet that orbits very close to a dwarf star be to ensure electromagnetic protection from flares? [closed]
After reading this question, I became quite worried about my own habitable world with similar characteristics. Even worse, my star is presumably much younger -- only 8.787 Gyr (out of 50.207 Gyr). ...
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Can a planet with rings support life?
Is it at all possible for complex life to evolve and exist on a planet with rings?
I assume the rings would have to be rock, since if the planet is to support life, it will have to be in the habitable ...
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Could a cold-cored planet be protected by a hot-cored moon?
This is an earth-sized planet, unable to produce an adequately protective magnetic field. Could a moon with a hot, iron/nickel core produce a magnetosphere large enough to encompass the planet and ...
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Atypical Habitable Planets - Planets Outside of Typical 'Habitable Zone' With Characteristics Still Conducive to Life
Warning: I am wordy and I overexplain things. I'm also Autistic, so I may come off as odd or unusual (and that also feeds into why I overexplain LOL). I'll do my best to be clear and concise, but you ...
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What is the albedo of a habitable planet?
What is the albedo range for an Earth-like planet? I need to know because it's important for determining the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone. I'm thinking in terms of cloud/water-ratio (I'...
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What atmospheric composition would this planet need for an avg. temperature of 50 Celsius?
Planet Info:
Star: 1.25x solar mass / F6V Type / ~6300K / 1.97x Luminosity
Planet is 1.84x Earth Mass, same density as Earth
Orbiting at 1.42 AU
atmospheric pressure is 3.68atm
Inputting these ...
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How to protect a water planet within a water ring of a quasar from radiation?
Tags: science-based habitability radiation
I am using this discovery as my starting point (Source)
An international team of astronomers led by the California Institute of Technology and involving the ...
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What is the largest apparent size a moon of a habitable planet can have? [duplicate]
Inspired by this question: How large can an apparent size of a moon be?
I am looking for a moon that is:
a terrestrial moon with properties vaguely similar to Luna (not a binary planet, but it can be ...
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On Habitable Moon Systems
Context
I was working on a habitable gas giant moon, but I came across an issue in that, at the acceptable distances from its parent planet (10-20 planetary Radii, according to an Artefexian video on ...
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Can a Super-Earth have a large moon?
I'm writing about a Super-Earth which is habitable and has a large moon, but I want to get one thing out of the way: can a Super-Earth have a large moon?
Wouldn't the Super-Earth pull on the moon, ...
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Local surface warming on a rogue planet [closed]
There have been several previous questions about geothermal warming of a rogue planet with regard to depth: how much overlying atmosphere, water, rock do you need for a given geothermal flux to ...
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Could humans live on a cylindrical celestial body?
Let's imagine a roughly (or perfectly?) cylindrical celestial body. Other than it's shape, everything about it astronomically (distance from sun, orbit shape, etc.) is the same as Earth. Is it ...
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Is this ocean-planet stable?
I'm building a cold, water-based ocean-planet for my current setting, its temperature being below 0°c at all times and in all of its regions. Even despite the freezing temperatures, the planet's ...
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How possible is a habitable, liquid ocean-planet at temperatures below 0°C?
I plan on having an ocean-planet with a breathable atmosphere built into my current setting, orbiting its host-star (a K4v main-sequence star) a short distance beyond its frost-line, with oceans that ...
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Would an increase in star density affect the "Goldilocks Zone"?
Let's say that there's a solar system that matches the description of Sol exactly, save for the fact that it's 20,000 light years closer/farther to the galactic center.
Would the zone of one ...
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How to increase Jupiter’s reflectivity?
The idea of turning Jupiter into a sun to terraform the Galilean moons is a popular one. This concept goes by the alluring name of “stellification,” but has a few important drawbacks when prodded with ...
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How far from a habitable planet must a red giant star be to not seriously affect it?
Can a habitable planet having complex life exist in a binary star system with a Red Giant? I am not talking about close binaries, but distant binaries (100 AU or more). Planets can orbit some smaller ...
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Could a planet in Alpha Circini system have developed carbon-based life?
For my story, I'm searching for a home star of one of the alien civilisations. Due to the desired region in space, I have now set my eyes on the Alpha Circini system (HIP 71908, HD 128898, GJ 560). I ...
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Do the parameters for this moon work? Will it be habitable?
I was wondering if the parameters for this world will work. It doesn’t need to be pleasant for humans but it will have at least multicellular life.
Object name: Adii-1
Mass: 0.33334x Earth’s
Mean ...
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How do I make an Earth-like habitable planet tidally locked to a red supergiant (class L or M)?
Assuming tidally locked planets have the potential to be inhabitable: Is there any way for a planet of Earth-like size to become tidally locked to a red supergiant of class L or M?
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Habitable moon and hycean world [closed]
A hycean world is a cross between a rocky planet and a gas giant. Think an ocean world with an atmosphere full of hydrogen.
Assuming it is in the habitable zone of its star, could a habitable moon, ...
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Could my planet be habitable (Or partially habitable) by humans?
Set up
I'm currently building a planet that I want to have both alien life forms and humans. It has the following traits:
Humans migrated from Earth a long time ago, but only landed on the planet 24 ...
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How deep would a canyon on this planet have to be to have an earth-like atmosphere?
I have, for a while now, been intrigued by the planet Canyon in Larry Niven’s Known Space universe:
Canyon was once an uninhabitable Mars-like world known as Warhead. It
is the second of seven ...
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Could humans survive inside the caldera of an extinct volcano on a very hot planet?
I was inspired by Dune, where the characters can't really go outside during the day (at least for long) because it's so hot, so they stay inside these massive buildings.
On a planet which is very hot (...
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Could humans possibly survive on a shallow ocean planet with scarce, but large, volcanic islands?
[edited after feedback in comments] I've had an idea for a story that takes place on a planet that is primarily shallow oceans (average depth of no more than 100m or so, max depth of no more than ...
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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 ...
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How long can a shattered Dyson Ring support life?
Now I recently had an idea for a setting and villain backstory and thought might as well get it vetted.
Once, there was a mighty Empire that had conquered its home system and converted most of the ...
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What effects would a Jupiter-like gas giant's magnetosphere have on a human civilization on its habitable exo-moon?
Background:
Like many others here, I'm building a world for a story I'm writing. I'd like it to be taken for granted that a moon roughly the size of Earth that is habitable for humans could exist in a ...
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Must a habitable planet's moon be tidally locked, and why?
Artifexian in his Worldsmith and other videos of his recommends a moon of a habitable planet must be a tidally locked moon. But why is that? I fail to understand how rotation of a moon about its axis ...
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In a world where gravity pass from 1 G to 5 G in a cycle of 365 days, can planes fly all the time?
I am writing a book and I have this cenario. There is a planet where gravity pass from 1 G to 5 G in a cycle of 365 days. I know that humans can survive till 3-5G, but what about airplanes capability ...
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Making a moon habitable through tidal heating
Let’s say we have a Star system with a gas giant about 30 AU from the local sun. This is way too far for this particular sun to warm any moons to habitability (unless life inhabits subsurface oceans) ...
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How do I determine the habitable zone of a binary star system?
Suppose two stars orbit each other and the planets orbit around the two stars' barycenter. I'm thinking of having at least one as a main sequence G or K class. For the sake of argument, let the other ...
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An Earthlike World Placed Around a Blue White Dwarf
A star that is bright, gives off blue light, and can have a world that mimics conditions on Earth is tricky. I'm hoping I can get one around a blue-colored white dwarf star.
What does the arrangement ...
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Why would a near future society struggle to grow crops on a large level?
I have a world where its mostly in ruins. But its run practically by corporations and smaller factions. A large part of the world is recovering from ecological collapse, massive pollution that travels ...
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Can a habitable S-type planet and three habitable P-type planets exist in one binary star system?
In this solar system are two stars, named Genesis and Exodus. Currently, I don't know the types because the need of habitability on the planets might affect the requirements for these stars. They ...
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What is a reasonable day length for a planet with 4 times earth radius?
The fictional planet has a mass of 18 times Earth's and four times earth's equatorial radiusreference. This gives it a gravitational acceleration of 11.02m/s^2 (1.29G) and an escape velocity of 23....
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