“Ghost atmospheres?” you might ask. Well…conventionally when we worldbuild planets, in the context of harder science fiction, we assume that atmospheres of terrestrial planets will be primarily carbon dioxide/nitrogen mixtures, or else will have been CO2/N2 mixtures but modified by life; to wit, Earth is … Continue readingWorldbuilding Ghost Atmospheres
I know it deserves an entry in some atlas obscura, it’s so poorly known outside very niche circles, but so help me I’ve always loved “Alien Planet” ever since the 2005 speculative documentary was first shown on the Discovery Channel (yes, I’m that old). It’s … Continue reading“Alien Planet”: A Fan Theory
Well, birthday month is here, February, and I’ll be the supple young age of…32. Ugh. I dread birthdays now, because I was denied the young adulthood I would have wanted to live, I wear the mark of that on my face and body, and there’s … Continue readingThere’s No Such Thing as One Cycle
I’ve already covered how Earth at the last glacial maximum was in fact not a frozen hell but something closer to a paradise, one we still enjoy remnants of today…but there are some aspects of ice-age Earth that even the best refugia cannot preserve. Few … Continue readingThe Glacial American South: A Lost World
Don’t ask me how I got into this, but I was reading up on myopia, i.e. nearsightedness, and I was shocked by how common it is — in parts of Asia up to 90% of the younger generation is nearsighted, with Western countries approaching the … Continue reading“She Hasn’t Grown Out of Her Readers Yet”
Fun fact about me: I hate grocery stores. In fact after lockdown was imposed I hardly ever went in one again…until I moved to California and experienced Erewhon. Yes, the grocery store of choice for celebrities; so help me, it’s actually a great place. Everything … Continue readingOf $520 Grocery Carts…
I already have a frankly rather interesting concept for a planet dominated by sharp relief, to the tune of nigh-Martian highlands and the usual thick-air jungle-y lowlands, with the ocean reservoirs being underground, primarily. “Cascadia Below, Mars Above” I called it; but siting it in … Continue readingWorlds of Ice, Snow, and Salt
Adventures in worldbuilding continue, this time with a planet I’m not sure where to site, but it’s a definite type of world that might be out there that I haven’t explored yet: a world orbiting beyond the classic “habitable zone” but warmed by a greenhouse … Continue readingCascadia Below, Mars Above?
I know I just revisited my fictional planet Cerberus…but why not revisit it again? It is my blog, after all. But seriously, I do have some more details I’ve settled in on as I continue to tune the environment to suit the vibe I have … Continue readingFleshing Out Cerberus: Antarctic Vibes?
Okay, I exaggerate…but not by nearly as much as you’d think. The ice giants of our solar system, Uranus and Neptune, are typically dismissed as habitats for mankind: there is solid surface chauvinism (which leads us to overlook Venus at 55 kilometers altitude or so … Continue readingAnother Earth, in the Depths of Neptune?