Post by Destecado on May 28, 2004 6:48:18 GMT -5
Within the ASP, there are many systems that have stars which fall into the M - V catagory. These are Red Dwarf stars. Red Dwarves are small relativiley cool stars, that comprise the vast majority of stars in our Galaxy.
The habitable zone for such stars lies very close (within the zero orbit). This leads to most worlds circling such stars being tidally locked. At first glance, this might mean that there would not be alot of variety for any worlds placed in such a system, but there are several ways to make viable as well as interesting systems around such suns.
Rather than discussing the idea of making the red dwarf the primary in a bianary system, I will adress the possibilities for having viable planets circling a solitary red dwarf.
Dark Side Colonies
The first misconception that I want to dispense with is that if the world is tidally locked, then al the water must be frozen on the dark side (side facing away from the sun). Though this may be the general case, there is the possiblity for liquid water to exist on the dark side.
Worlds with a higher green house effect will be more likely to have liquid water on the dark side of the planet. An atmosphere consisting of greenhouse gases can have a powerful greenhouse effect leading to very even temperatures. Without its atmosphere, and the greenhouse effect caused by the water vapor in the atmosphere, the surface of the Earth would have the same sort of temperature extremes as the surface of Mars. The presence of too many greenhouse gases can cause the temperature to increase out of control, however. Such is the case with the atmosphere of Venus.
Twilight Zone Habitation
Another possibility for habitation is withing the Twilight Zone. This is the region that seperates the Day Side from the Night Side of the planet. It may lead to some very interesting worlds where human habitation (without enviromental protection) is relegated to a narrow strip around the planet. Such habitation may exist in an eerie twilight, having neither true day or night. It may lead to some interesting human cultures.
Sub-Surface Habitation or Dome Habitation
This would be needed on worlds that do not have an atmosphere conducive to human life or may exist as colonies on planets where human habitation is restricted to the twilight zone. They may be full fledged cities or specialized enviroments, to perhaps crack ice and pump the unfrozen water to colonies in the habitable zone of the world or to the day side.
There is also the possibility of cities built on top of volcanos or geotheraml vents. Another possibility is what is termed a trench or canyon colony. These are cities that are built vertically into the walls of a canyon or man made trench. The idea is to take advantage of the natural wind currents which flow through such structures in order to gather warmth to maintain the colony. Vertical cities open nteresting possibilites for a stratified human culture.
Other Options
Instead of having the planet circle the sun, you may instead want to make it a large moon of a gas giant. This will have some beneficial effects for the planet. The most obvious is the ability of the Gas Giant to act as a giant reflecting body for the light of the primary star.
The Gas Giant may also warm the planet through increased tidal stresses or perhaps it gives off radiation as well. The effects may allow such a planet to exist at the edge of the habitable zone of the star or actually a little out side of the normal habitable zone (within reason).
Another option would be to include space colonies orbiting around the planet or perhaps stationed at the lagrange points between the planet and its moon. For a further explanation of lagrange points, check out the following link.
www.physics.montana.edu/faculty/cornish/lagrange.html
This may be a possibility to explore since little is said about such structures within the 40k Universe, although there must be mining or the various asteroid belts that exist throughout the galaxy. Perhaps these colonies produce natrual spacers (people occustomered to working in space) and provide the perfect recruiting ground for officers and crews to fill the vast fleets of the Imperium.
Then there is the highbrid version of the orbiting colony, the space hulk colony. This culture could have sprung up from those that survived the initial cataclysm of the ship impacts. They could have cobbled together various habitation zones on the ship, while large wirlderness areas exist elsewhere in the hulk. It may be that this ship was caught by the star and pulled into orbit in much the same manner as a rogue planet.
These are but a few possibilites, but I hope it helps anyone interested in pursuing the developement of a Red Dwarf Star System.
The habitable zone for such stars lies very close (within the zero orbit). This leads to most worlds circling such stars being tidally locked. At first glance, this might mean that there would not be alot of variety for any worlds placed in such a system, but there are several ways to make viable as well as interesting systems around such suns.
Rather than discussing the idea of making the red dwarf the primary in a bianary system, I will adress the possibilities for having viable planets circling a solitary red dwarf.
Dark Side Colonies
The first misconception that I want to dispense with is that if the world is tidally locked, then al the water must be frozen on the dark side (side facing away from the sun). Though this may be the general case, there is the possiblity for liquid water to exist on the dark side.
Worlds with a higher green house effect will be more likely to have liquid water on the dark side of the planet. An atmosphere consisting of greenhouse gases can have a powerful greenhouse effect leading to very even temperatures. Without its atmosphere, and the greenhouse effect caused by the water vapor in the atmosphere, the surface of the Earth would have the same sort of temperature extremes as the surface of Mars. The presence of too many greenhouse gases can cause the temperature to increase out of control, however. Such is the case with the atmosphere of Venus.
Twilight Zone Habitation
Another possibility for habitation is withing the Twilight Zone. This is the region that seperates the Day Side from the Night Side of the planet. It may lead to some very interesting worlds where human habitation (without enviromental protection) is relegated to a narrow strip around the planet. Such habitation may exist in an eerie twilight, having neither true day or night. It may lead to some interesting human cultures.
Sub-Surface Habitation or Dome Habitation
This would be needed on worlds that do not have an atmosphere conducive to human life or may exist as colonies on planets where human habitation is restricted to the twilight zone. They may be full fledged cities or specialized enviroments, to perhaps crack ice and pump the unfrozen water to colonies in the habitable zone of the world or to the day side.
There is also the possibility of cities built on top of volcanos or geotheraml vents. Another possibility is what is termed a trench or canyon colony. These are cities that are built vertically into the walls of a canyon or man made trench. The idea is to take advantage of the natural wind currents which flow through such structures in order to gather warmth to maintain the colony. Vertical cities open nteresting possibilites for a stratified human culture.
Other Options
Instead of having the planet circle the sun, you may instead want to make it a large moon of a gas giant. This will have some beneficial effects for the planet. The most obvious is the ability of the Gas Giant to act as a giant reflecting body for the light of the primary star.
The Gas Giant may also warm the planet through increased tidal stresses or perhaps it gives off radiation as well. The effects may allow such a planet to exist at the edge of the habitable zone of the star or actually a little out side of the normal habitable zone (within reason).
Another option would be to include space colonies orbiting around the planet or perhaps stationed at the lagrange points between the planet and its moon. For a further explanation of lagrange points, check out the following link.
www.physics.montana.edu/faculty/cornish/lagrange.html
This may be a possibility to explore since little is said about such structures within the 40k Universe, although there must be mining or the various asteroid belts that exist throughout the galaxy. Perhaps these colonies produce natrual spacers (people occustomered to working in space) and provide the perfect recruiting ground for officers and crews to fill the vast fleets of the Imperium.
Then there is the highbrid version of the orbiting colony, the space hulk colony. This culture could have sprung up from those that survived the initial cataclysm of the ship impacts. They could have cobbled together various habitation zones on the ship, while large wirlderness areas exist elsewhere in the hulk. It may be that this ship was caught by the star and pulled into orbit in much the same manner as a rogue planet.
These are but a few possibilites, but I hope it helps anyone interested in pursuing the developement of a Red Dwarf Star System.
