Solar HERO: Home of the wrinkles

[Basil]

Well, it's what my skin looks like when I first get up; all wrinkled from the sheets & pillowcase.

Only this is Enceladus, and they're calling 'em "tiger stripes." I say, pfui, they're wrinkles. Take a look:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081013.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081014.html

Oh, and that make yet another place in the Solar System that may have liquid water. :thumbup:

[Kristopher]

Isn't this also a moon with water geysers?

[Cancer]

That's what the "tiger stripes" are. Fissures that are water geysers. Seems fairly frequent among the outer planet satellites.

[Nyrath]

Charles Pelligrino had an interesting take on this.

He noted the existence of the famous Galapagos Black Smokers
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/life/extremes.html
The weird life forms there do not depend upon the Sun, they only need the planet's tidal heat.

Europa, Enceladus, Ganymede and Titan might have similar smokers, and might even have life.

Say they all do. That would mean that in our Solar System, there would be one example of hot planet life (us), and four examples of icy planet life.

Scaling this up, it would imply that on the average, in the galaxy, icy planet life outnumbers hot planet life four to one.

If the icy planets develop armed spacecraft, and take offense at our existence, we could be in real trouble.

[Kristopher]

Charles Pelligrino had an interesting take on this.

He noted the existence of the famous Galapagos Black Smokers
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/life/extremes.html
The weird life forms there do not depend upon the Sun, they only need the planet's tidal heat.

Europa, Enceladus, Ganymede and Titan might have similar smokers, and might even have life.

Say they all do. That would mean that in our Solar System, there would be one example of hot planet life (us), and four examples of icy planet life.

Scaling this up, it would imply that on the average, in the galaxy, icy planet life outnumbers hot planet life four to one.

If the icy planets develop armed spacecraft, and take offense at our existence, we could be in real trouble.

It's a big universe, but I have a little trouble seeing how such life would develop much in the way of technology, being confined to a dark, underwater existence, trapped beneath a frigid surface with a thin atmosphere and no shielding from radiation.

[Sundog]

It's a big universe, but I have a little trouble seeing how such life would develop much in the way of technology, being confined to a dark, underwater existence, trapped beneath a frigid surface with a thin atmosphere and no shielding from radiation.


In the case of Titan, radiation isn't a problem. It's far enough out that Solar Radiation just isn't that much of a worry, and Saturn doesn't have the massive radiation field Jupiter does.

[Kristopher]

In the case of Titan, radiation isn't a problem. It's far enough out that Solar Radiation just isn't that much of a worry, and Saturn doesn't have the massive radiation field Jupiter does.

Cosmic rays are still a problem, no?

[austenandrews]

Cosmic rays could make them supergeniuses! Or on fire.

It's hard to extrapolate something like that, but based on earthly evidence, I'd agree with the deduction that icy worlds may be less conducive to technological organisms.

[Nyrath]

Of course, a game master who wanted to fudge things for their campaign can resort to a couple of hand-waves.

The old stand-by to allow ocean dwellers to have technology is to use "biological technology." That is, instead of smelting iron and making microchips, they genetically engineer animals into the required equipment.

The Pentapods (http://members.cnetech.com/kevinc/2300ad/penteqp.htm) from Traveller 2300AD do this.

In Stephen Baxter's Xeelee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeelee_Sequence) novels, there is a race called the Spline who ensured that they'd always have a job.

They genetically engineered themselves into living spaceships. The finest spaceships in the galaxy. And they rent themselves out to other races who want great spaceships.

[Beast]

depends on the magneto spheres generated by the moon and by Saturn(should Saturn's be large enough


Cosmic rays are still a problem, no?

[Maur]

Charles Pelligrino had an interesting take on this.

He noted the existence of the famous Galapagos Black Smokers
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/life/extremes.html
The weird life forms there do not depend upon the Sun, they only need the planet's tidal heat.

Europa, Enceladus, Ganymede and Titan might have similar smokers, and might even have life.

Say they all do. That would mean that in our Solar System, there would be one example of hot planet life (us), and four examples of icy planet life.

Scaling this up, it would imply that on the average, in the galaxy, icy planet life outnumbers hot planet life four to one.

If the icy planets develop armed spacecraft, and take offense at our existence, we could be in real trouble.

Even if Icy worlds with smokers outnumbered worlds like Earth, that doesn't make those lifeforms outnumber Terran types. The smokers here comprise a very insignificant portion of the habitable areas occupied by all the other lifeforms.

[Nyrath]

Even if Icy worlds with smokers outnumbered worlds like Earth, that doesn't make those lifeforms outnumber Terran types. The smokers here comprise a very insignificant portion of the habitable areas occupied by all the other lifeforms.
True, but on the other hand, there is probably a zero percent of Terran type life occuring on Europa, Enceladus, Ganymede and Titan. ;)