/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.6699815]

Hello /sci/.

I'm a game designer, and I'm making a game set in space. I was wondering if there's any general changes in quality you get as a planet gets closer to or further away from the sun? Stuff like temperature, composition, size, etc.

[Anonymous No.6699818]

>>6699815
Nope. They don't change.

[Anonymous No.6699825]

>>6699818
I'm not talking about physically moving the planets here. I'm talking about planets close to the sun tend to be ... etc.

[Anonymous No.6699841]

Google this stuff from respectable sources, not pseudo scientists advice from here. I'm not an astronomer, but from this solar system poster I have on my wall it's pretty obvious there's significantly different temperatures as you get closer to the sun, worth googling.
Out of boredom what game is it? I dig 3D movement, loved the physics of Sins of a Solar Empire

[Anonymous No.6700382]

>>6699815
planets closer to the sun tend to be more dense and have heavier atoms. hence all the gas giants in the outer system

[Anonymous No.6700405]

>>6699815
Planets close to the Sun tend to be hotter, obviously.

And you're never going to find rocky planets further out than gas planets.

[Anonymous No.6700408]

>>6699841
Venus is hotter than Mercury. But for the most part planets do get colder the farther they are from the Sun.

[Anonymous No.6700424]

Such processes are much more complex than Discovery Channel would have you believe.

Some of the factors that can affect planetary climate are the size and intensity of the star, the atmospheric composition (and subsequently the layering of the atmosphere), what types of radiation are absorbed by the planet's surface and atmosphere, plate tectonics, the presence and intensity of a magnetic field, any orbiting bodies, the size, distance from, radiation of AND magnetic field of a gas giant it may be orbiting, and whether the climate is sustained by biological processes or not. I'm sure I've missed many other factors.

Technically, Earth lies quite a bit outside the "habitable zone" of the sun but thanks to many interlinked processes the atmosphere provides a highly insulating environment for life to develop in.

Of course, such systems are not feasible to simulate (yet), but taking these into account can make for some very good worldbuilding if you're into that.

[Anonymous No.6700427]

>>6700382
Which was the common answer until shit loads of hot Jupiter were found.

[Anonymous No.6700441]

>>6700424
>Technically, Earth lies quite a bit outside the "habitable zone" of the sun
Jesus Christ wtf are you smoking nigger?
"Habitable zone" is literally defined around the earth


You can just do the standard
>Large rock planets generally close and sometimes far, sometimes even orbiting gas giants.
>Gas planets far away
>Gas obviously larger than rock, gas planets also have more moons
>Cold far, hot close
>Asteroid belts here and there
>Couple comets there

[Anonymous No.6700450]

>>6700441
In comparison to the sun's output, the defined standard of "habitable zone" is more towards Venus; Earth doesn't receive enough sunlight for that to be the only thing needed to sustain a habitable environment.

Also the standard is really goddamn boring.

[Anonymous No.6700453]

>>6700450
What part of "It's defined around Earth" did you not understand
All effects are taken into account.

[Anonymous No.6700458]

>>6700453
So the "habitable region" around stars defined as such would only be suitable for exact copies of Earth?

[Anonymous No.6700459]

>>6700458
No, the Habitable Zone is basically defined as the region from Venus to Mars in equivalent isolation.

[Anonymous No.6700461]

>>6699815
The only thing that's really consistent is temperature goes up the closer you are. Everything else varies.

[Anonymous No.6700464]

>>6700458
Just go to the wiki page already
Jesus you are retarded.

[Anonymous No.6700470]

>>6700458
Planets can still be way bigger or smaller than Earth, just that in that region they're more likely to support Earth-like life.