Questions tagged [space]
For questions related to outer space, stellar systems, stars and other astronomical phenomena.
1,583 questions
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Additional moons affecting orbits of original moon
I have an earth-like planet orbiting a sun similar to ours. I currently have one moon orbiting the planet (statistics of the moon at the bottom) and I want to add a second moon that is a little larger ...
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Technological feasibility of transporting Martian water to Earth
I understand that this is an inherently ridiculous idea. Earth is covered in water already. But in our current reality, rich people on Earth pay for bottled water that's been shipped halfway around ...
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Why would humanity evacuate Earth instead of simply trying to destroy a huge asteroid?
Premise
I'm trying to write a story where an asteroid, from the Kuiper Belt, is going to hit Earth in about 2-3 years. Resulting in many major nations of Earth trying their best to evacuate before the ...
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Shotguns In Space
I'm working on a video game set in a hard(-ish) sci fi setting, and an issue has occurred to me regarding shotguns in space. Shotguns - in theory - are an excellent weapon against drones and such that ...
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Why build an industrial space station in close solar orbit?
For a somewhat hard science-fiction setting, set roughly around the 24th century, I had envisioned an industrial space station in close solar orbit (closer than Mercury at least).
However, I started ...
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Where do human-like species make their homes in the galaxy if they can choose?
Imagine you're building a setting where humans and/or biologically similar species have dispersed among the stars over a very long time, such that they span thousands of lightyears, and let's say you'...
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At what speed does the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation become lethal
Background
Far future humanity has set its sight on widespread inter-galactic colonization. Due to advancements in a variety of technologies, the ability to move at an arbitrarily high fraction of the ...
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Hard sci-fi: Could a Dyson sphere's thermal effects cause Earth's gravity to increase?
I'm writing a hard science fiction story set in the 30th century. I want the physics to be internally consistent even if speculative.
The Scenario:
Humanity builds a Dyson sphere that concentrates ...
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What sort of astronomical natural disasters could a Type II-III civilization NOT anticipate or avert?
I found a similar question but the scale was too large. I'm wondering what sort of astronomical disasters could affect a civilization roughly between Type II and III. Really, I'm wondering what sort ...
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What is the most likely used power source that can survive till heat death (100 trillion years)?
What it says on the tin: I need a power source that can survive till the end of the universe for my spaceship and its astronauts. They have fallen asleep too long after a systems failure, the ship is ...
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Space Princess Space Tours: Black Holes merging - what would you visually see?
We have the Space Princess Space Tours company that specialises in cruise voyages to see the 'sights and sounds' of the universe.
One of the tours is that of a rare black hole merging event - set to ...
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What does my 3D Printing Life-Seeder Probe need to print to populate the Universe for humans?
A visionary multi-billionaire wants to colonise the Universe with his Von Neumann probe printer to create a stunning variety of life and culture within our awe-inspiringly huge yet silent universe.
In ...
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How to calculate how bright a rocket's exhaust would be?
Basically, I'm trying to calculate how bright the drive plume for a plasma-core antimatter rocket would be viewed from Earth, at a distance (although it would be useful for other kinds of drives, such ...
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What mass does my space vehicle need to be, to leave a city in ruins by dropping it from orbit?
In my world, there is a civil war between two factions of a large country.
One faction has managed to take control of an interstellar space vessel in orbit, and is threatening to destroy the capital ...
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How to navigate in the Universe's Heat Death
The stars have all gone out, all that is left are dying black holes and a few scattered stellar remnants.
The last ship of our wonderful civilisation is floating through space and the crew have ...
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