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.

Journals

I've not found any useful online journals, but the planetary science journal Icarus has a searchable index

Articles