References
Introduction | Web
sites | Science Fiction | Books
| Journals | Articles |
Other sources
Introduction
Most of the web sites I've found are scattered through the science and systems pages,
but gathered here are some more general resources.
Web sites
CONTACT
have been designing alien worlds at their conference for years. Elizabeth
Viau is running a World-building course at California State University. Terranova has a new fractally generated planetary globe every
day, The Fractal Worldmap Generator allows you to draw your own.
Caltech have a Virtual
Planetary Laboratory aimed at reproducing possible spectral signatures
to help the Terrestrial Planet Finder programme.
Geoff Eddy has a walkthrough of the scientific and other ideas behind
Creating
an Earthlike Planet that's well worth reading.
A rather simplistic world map generator is available from Irony Games
Nine
Planets site covers our solar system in detail. The SETI League are
active in the search for extraterrestrial life. There is even a School
of Exo-Science and Alien Studies.
The Astrobiology
Web has very comprehensive coverage of exobiology, terraforming, SETI,
extra-solar planets and the exploration of the solar system, and this site
explains the Drake Equation very well.
The 3D
starmaps site is good for showing the relation between star
systems.
Science Fiction
I've found very few useful SF references other than ones on Larry Niven's
Known Space which
has many interesting planets, and bibliographies for Hal Clement and
Robert Forward,
who are known for their interesting and scientifically derived worlds.
Technical Books
Look at Martyn Fogg's Planetary Engineering, Stephen Gillett's World
building, and Del Cotter's Alien
Design bibliographies.
- Fogg, M.J., Terraforming -
Engineering Planetary Environments, SAE, 1995, ISBN
1-56091-609-5
- Gillett, S.L.,
World-Building, Writer's Digest Books, 1996, ISBN
0-89879-707-1
- Cole, G.H.A, The Physics of Planetary
Interiors, Adam Hilger, 1984, ISBN 0-85274-445-5
- Comins, N.F. What if the Moon Didn't Exist ISBN
0-06-016864-1.
- Zeilik. M, Smith E.P., Introductory Astronomy and
Astrophysics, Saunders College Publishing, New York, ISBN
0-03-004499-5
Journals
I've not found any useful online journals, but the planetary science
journal Icarus has a searchable index
Articles
- The Chaotic Obliquity of the Planets,
J. Laskar, P. Robutel, Nature, 361, 608-612 (1993)
- Habitable Zones around Main Sequence
Stars, J.F. Kasting, D.P. Whitmire, R.T. Reynolds, Icarus,
101, 108-128 (1993)
- Habitable moons around extra solar
giant planet, D.M. Williams, J.F. Kasting, R.A. Wade, Nature,
385, 234-236 (1997)