Systems
Solar System | Extra-solar
planets | Science Fiction | Other
Worlds
Solar System
Our solar system is well described in the Nine
Planets site and the Goddard fact
sheets.
Extra-Solar planets
A lot of excitement has been generated recently by the discovery of planets
around other stars, though at the moment they are either pulsar planets or
gas giants like 51 Pegasus and 70 Virginis and 47 Ursae Majoris. For technical
details see the site set
up by the major discoverers Marcy and Butler. An excellent summary of the
51 Pegasus, 70 Virginis and 47 Ursae Majoris systems appears on the Nine
Planets pages. There is also a Extra-Solar Planets
Encyclopaedia. A new Exoplanet site lays out information on the known systems very
attractively
I've used the limited figures from these sources and Usenet, guessing
others as appropriate. I've generally assume the bodies are scaled
Jupiter's for radius, atmosphere and the like.
Science Fiction
I've included a selection of planets from science fiction. For some, like
Frank Herbert's Dune, few figures are quoted, and I'm forced to invent most of
the data. At the other extreme, hard SF writers like Hal Clement,
Robert Forward
and Stephen Baxter provide detailed technical information,
but stretch the envelope away from the standard terrestrial model. I can
see no easy way to handle the discus shape of Clement's classic Mission
of Gravity too well, nor Forward's teardrop shaped worlds in
Rocheworld. As for Forward's Dragon's Egg with creatures
living on the surface of a neutron star, and Baxter's Raft, while I
can increase G a billion fold, most calculations fail for a 1 mile iron
honeycomb star and a cabin as a planet.
Poul Anderson designs some of the most detailed conventional worlds, and
I've included the twin Genji, Chujo system from Murasaki.
I'm starting to add more stars from this Stars in SF
list, and reference some from Larry Niven's Known Space series.
Other worlds
I've also included some of the worlds created by people at the Contact conferences, like Epona.
Martyn Fogg has kindly provided me with details of the possible
conditions on a terraformed Mars. The first is when the world is being
warmed by high carbon dioxide and water vapour levels, the second after the
establishment of life has reduced carbon dioxide and increased oxygen
levels, and nitrogen has been added as a buffer gas. Note that the nominal
greenhouse effect also includes the influence of CFCs, orbiting mirrors and
the like.
Del Cotter has provided me with details of Chiron, the planet in the
Alpha Centauri system he designed for Firaxis games for their game Alpha
Centauri.