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The sizes and temperatures of these worlds are comparable to those of Earth and Venus, and are the best targets found so far for the search for life outside the
by kafkaesq 11y ago
The sizes and temperatures of these worlds are comparable to those of Earth and Venus, and are the best targets found so far for the search for life outside the solar system.
That's quite a variation in temperature. Especially since Venus generally isn't considered to be "habitable."
- s_q_b 11y agoVenus could well have been habitable, but the runaway greenhouse effect stopped that. I'm sure there's thousands of types of planets out there "just like Earth, but..."
- gboss 11y agoThere are altitudes within Venus' thick atmosphere that are actually quite reasonable, with it being proposed that humans would only need a simple oxygen mask to survive. The idea of setting up a "floating" colony in Venus' atmosphere has been proposed a few times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Venus#Aerostat_habitats_and_floating_cities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Venus#Aerostat...
- akita-ken 11y agoI've always been intrigued by the idea of aerostats on Venus. Certainly the idea seems sound (at least in theory), and the fact that an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere mix would be a lifting gas on Venus greatly reduces the launch cost of bringing a dedicated lifting gas from Earth. But gosh, imagine going to bed on such a habitat knowing that all that's keeping you from a hot and fiery end are your gas balloons and a couple of steel cables!
- simonh 11y agoI can see the point of an observation and science platform, but not colonization. What resources would be available that would be worth the cost? Maybe you could manufacture rocket fuel, water and other useful materials from the atmosphere? I'd be interested to see a proposal on that front otherwise it's a bit pointless.
- simonh 11y agoI can see the point of an observation and science platform, but not colonization. What resources would be available that would be worth the cost? Maybe you could manufacture rocket fuel, water and other useful materials from the atmosphere? I'd be interested to see a proposal on that front otherwise it's a bit pointless because you'd be so completely dependent on outside support.