Take an Earth twin; move it away from its sun so it cools, and cools…and cools some more. Ice sheets grow and then once a tipping point is reached, you end up with the classic “Snowball Earth”: runaway global glaciation, where the entire world is … Continue readingIce Forgives: Some Thoughts on the Extended Habitable Zone
I’ve been giving some thought, once again, to Thalassa, my oceanic planet with a thick oxygen atmosphere orbiting Proxima Centauri, which I’ve featured in some stories…but it’s some stories I might want to revise, because the more I brainstorm the biosphere, the more alien and … Continue readingLeviathans of the Airy Deep?
I’ve been giving some thought as to how an alien intelligence could be really alien from what we’re used to with humans on Earth; hardly an original idea, to the point I almost subvert it by making my “Thalassans”, an avian intelligence native to Proxima … Continue readingMaking my Aliens more Three-Dimensional…
“CHON?”, you might ask; “What’s that?”. It’s an affectionate acronym for the four most common vital chemical elements in the biochemistry of life as we know it. To wit, carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N). The human body is 95..6% CHON by … Continue readingThe Tyranny of CHON
What would be “next level” beyond “Wings of Fire”, my story of an alternate-historical lunar landing where an Apollo-13-style explosion proves deadly, and occurs after the lander is already on the surface? This was, as in our timeline, the early space age, so backups, redundancy, … Continue readingGhost Ships of Titan
So far in my worldbuilding of our stellar neighborhood I’ve avoided Earth twins or Earth analogues for the most part…but zooming out, it’s just a bit too tempting to look at a solar analogue star (a star that’s very similar to our own sun, a … Continue readingLambda Aurigae: Earth’s Evil Twin
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
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
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?