"Tatooine" found

[Deimos Anomaly]

The Kepler space telescope has found a planet orbiting a binary pair of stars. Viewed from the planet's surface a double sunset would be visible. This is the first planet of its kind to be found.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1AZHMg-J5Q[/yt]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/15/star-wars-planet-kepler16b-tatooine

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...ith-two-suns/2011/09/15/gIQA39c1UK_video.html

 

[Lorthos]

Haha awesome

 

[PsychoPere]

Previously posted.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, those are in other forums. We can have one here, too.

 

[ares93]

I just like to point out that its not a Tatooine like planet that they found, but a a system that resembles Tatooine's. The planet itself is a gas giant unless I'm mistaken and it more resembles Hoth regarding temperature than Tatooine.

 

[Deckerd]

Hoth was rocky too; meaning you can live on a rock no matter the temperature (within reason - I think the methane lakes on Titan might be a bit of a challenge). You can't live on a gas giant, 'you' being little squashy ugly bags of mostly water.

 

[Deimos Anomaly]

That depends on the composition of the gas giant. A gas giant composed of heavier gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide..) could support a "cloud city" type construct perpetually floating on the lift of giant hydrogen / helium gas cells.

This would be impractical on jupiter or saturn, since their atmospheres are already mostly hydrogen, and since no lighter gas exists there is nothing that could be used as a lifting gas. Active aerodynamic lift would still work but I wouldn't want to depend on 24/7 powered aerodynamic lift as the only thing keeping me out of the crushing depths.

Actually one proposal for colonisation of Venus involves giant cloud cities. Venus isn't a gas giant, but its atmospheric pressure at the surface is extreme... equivelant to being more than a mile under the ocean. However at 60,000 feet pressure is about equivelant to earth MSL, and moreover in the atmospheric composition of venus, an earth-atmosphere gas mix (o2 / n2) would be a lifting gas, so the interior of the gas envelopes could themselves be living space.

 

[Deckerd]

I think it's more likely that any habitation on Venus would be underground. More sensible to use the existing strata as an envelope. Much stronger, durable and stable without the vagaries of the weather to contend with. I envisage an underground mountain complex with a starg... sorry got carried away there. Besides, the only reason to go there would be to mine minerals, so might as well put the side effect to good use.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ You forgot the Venusian dinosaurs.