High Resolution Pictures

I know there’s a lot of tension after Tumblr’s new policy annouced for December 17th, but reblog this if you aren’t leaving Tumblr so that other blogs can know they aren’t going to be completely alone!

Picture of the day - February 1, 2019 - (Very late post)

Heavily cratered Mars-like planet.

The northern pole of a large moon orbiting the blue gas giant. The clouds like structures visible are two galaxies in the process of colliding.

Purple Skies

Picture of the Day - November 4, 2018

The surface of a large moon orbiting a gas giant that has an unusual purple-tinted atmosphere. The moon has diatomic sulfur in the upper atmosphere producing the purple hue.

Really detailed map of federation space from star trek.

Map of the Alpha Quadrant From Star Trek.

Picture of the day - December 9, 2018

One of Insight B-VI’s smaller outer moons crossing the face of a large cyclone.

Vibrant Rings

Picture of the Day - November 1, 2018

I’ve decided to move closer to home and am now exploring the Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy. You’ll see in numerous pictures the Milky Way in the background covering almost a quarter of the sky in some locations

First picture from the new galaxy a ringed ice-giant with a colorful ring system.

Pictures of the day 2 - December 2, 2018

Insight System - Fourth Planet (Insight B-IV)

Insight B-IV is a Saturn-Like planet with an extensive tan-colored ring system. The planet is 53,870 kilometers in radius and has a mass of 62.7 Earth’s. This small gas giant orbits Insight B at an average distance of 0.56 AU and completes and orbit once every 184.9 Earth days. A day on the planet lasts 16 hours and 24 minutes.

Weather on the planet is quite active with numerous storm systems ranging across the planet constantly. The temperatures averages -94 F.

A total of 26 moons orbit Insight B-IV, but only one of those, the third satellite is a large rounded object. Its lone large moon has a radius of 1,132 kilometers, and a mass one quarter that of our moon.

High Resolution Pictures

Insight B-IV

Active atmosphere

Lonely moon

Duality

Insight B-IV-M3 (only large moon)

Lunar Surface

Between the rings

What would cause two stars to collide? What does it take for a whole planet (as massive as Jupiter) to change trajectory?

The main mechanism that would make two stars collide is gravity. This depends on several factors, some stars may wander through space and end up being attracted by the gravitational field of another star, from there, one star begins to orbit the other. 

But the most common are collisions in clusters of stars, because in a star cluster the stars are very close together, especially in globular clusters. 

Collisions of young stars may also occur, as most of the stars are born close to each other in clusters. Many stars are binary, formed together, but in some cases before they evolve they may end up colliding.

In the universe both collisions of active stars can occur, as can collisions of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.

The orbits of the planets are determined by the gravitational pull of the Sun, so it would need some very extreme force to cause the orbit of a planet to change its trajectory, perhaps if some planet or star enters our solar system, or when the Sun goes through changes and become a white dwarf in about 5 billion years.

Gas Giant Classification System

Note: this is a modified version of the Sudarsky Gas Giant Classification System, which is a system proposed by David Sudarsky to classify gas giant planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn.

The system that Sudarsky created classifies gas giant planets based off of the temperature of the planet’s atmosphere’s at 1 bar pressure, and the primary chemical that comprises the planet’s cloud decks. His original system contained 5 different types of gas giants: Ammonia, Water, Cloudless, Alkali Metal, and Silicate Clouds)

I have decided to amend his original classification system to include three additional types of gas planets (Nitrogen-Oxygen, Methane, and Carbon), and I believe this system should apply generally to ice giants as well. These modifications cover more types of gaseous planets under a greater range of temperatures and compositions. Again credit to the original idea is given to David Sudarsky.

Type Ib: Nitrogen-Oxygen Class Gas/ Ice Giant

Nitrogen-Oxygen Gas/Ice Giants are the coldest types of gaseous planet. They have atmospheric temperatures of less than 40 K, (-388 °F) at 1 bar pressure. These planets have atmospheric temperatures low enough that oxygen and nitrogen condense into liquid droplets and ice crystals, and at lower depths in the atmosphere it rains liquid nitrogen and oxygen. In hydrogen depleted gas/ ice giants, the cloud decks may even be composed of crystals and droplets of carbon monoxide.

These planets have a primarily deep blue color, with dull gray/blue cloud bands. The blue color of the atmosphere is due to the presence of liquid nitrogen and oxygen lower in the atmosphere which scatters blue light. Gaseous planets of this class planets are relatively rare. Gas giants of this class only exist if they are extremely old (8+ Billion years) and orbit far from their parent star. Most gas giants emit enough internal heat to be too warm to fit this class, given the age of the universe. Ice giants of this class would be more common due to their smaller size and smaller reservoirs of internal heat. Rogue ice giants occupy most planets of this class.

Type Ia: Methane Class Gas/Ice Giant

Methane Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 40 K and 90 K (-388 °F and -298 °F). These planet’s have atmospheric temperatures that support the formation of methane clouds. Methane is the primary light scattering chemical which gives the planet a deep blue to cyan color. Examples of this class include both Neptune and Uranus.

Methane Class gas planets orbit far from their parent stars, and often emit as much heat as they receive from the sun. Atmospheric activity is driven almost entirely by internally released heat. Planet’s with less heat often appear bland and almost featureless (i.e. Uranus), while planets that emit significant internal heat, show more pronounced cloud bands and even large cyclonic systems (i.e. Neptune). The hue of the planet is believed to be determined by how much methane is in the atmosphere.

Type I: Ammonia Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type I)

Ammonia Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 90 K and 160 K (-298 °F and -172 °F). These planet’s have atmospheres dominated by ammonia ice crystals. Ammonia is the primary light scattering compound that often gives these planets a brownish hue. Temperatures are warm enough in the atmosphere for complex chemistry to occur, including for formation of tholins and other complex hydrocarbons, along with various other chemical compounds dredged up through convection from the interior. Cloud bands may take on numerous colors including: brown, white, red, orange and yellow.

Ammonia Gas giants include both the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The atmosphere of an ammonia gas planet is extremely turbulent and active due to the increased solar radiation. These planets typically orbit just beyond a star systems frost line (the temperature at which ice will not sublimate in a vacuum), but not far enough for methane clouds form.

Type II: Water Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type II)

Water Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 160 K and 250 K (-172 °F and -10 °F). These planets have atmospheres dominated by water-ice crystals, and their atmosphere experiences liquid water rain at lower depths. If a gaseous planet were to support aerial life, Type II planets would be the perfect candidate. Water-Ice reflects a lot of the sunlight making these planets extremely bright with high reflective albedos.

No Water Class Gas or Ice giants exist within the solar system, but examples include: Upsilon Andromedae D or PH2B. Type II planets orbit from the middle of the habitable zone out to the edge of the frost line. Type II gaseous planets orbiting within a system’s habitable zone may have large Earth-like satellites in orbit that are capable of supporting life.

Type IIa: Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giant

Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 250 K and 350 K (-10 °F and 170 °F). These planets have atmospheres dominated by hydrogen sulfide and sulfur. Cloud decks are composed of crystals of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur-dust. These planets have complex upper atmospheric chemistry dominated by sulfur bearing compounds, and have a composition similar to the clouds of Venus. Atomic sulfur dust in the atmosphere gives the planet’s a distinct yellow hue, and is the result of ultraviolet radiation breaking down hydrogen sulfide though a process called photodissociation.

Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit between the center of a system’s habitable zone and a system’s Venus Zone. The atmosphere’s of Type IIa planets are extremely active which cyclonic systems, sharp cloud bands, and chaotic polar regions. As with Type II Gas/Ice Giants, Type IIa planets orbiting within a system’s habitable zone may support Earth-like moons in orbit.

Type III: Cloudless Glass Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type III)

Cloudless Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 350 K and 800 K (170 °F and 980 °F). These planets have atmospheres that do not lie within a temperature range of any common compounds to exist as either ice crystals of liquid droplets. Methane deep in the atmosphere give the planets a blueish green hue from the scattering of blue light. Due to the lack of clouds, the banding is faint and muted in appearance. Varying concentrations of sulfides and chlorides between the individual weather zones give each band a slightly different hue. If high concentrations of sulfur are present, these planets may take on a violet or purple color from the formation of diatomic sulfur molecules.

Cloudless Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit between roughly a mercury equivalent orbit and the inner edge of the Venus Zone. The atmosphere despite it’s faded appearance, experiences powerful winds and extremely stormy weather. Roughly half of these type of planets orbit close enough to their parent stars to be tidally locked.

Type IV: Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type IV)

Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 800 K and 1,400 K (980 °F and 2,060 °F). At these temperatures carbon monoxide becomes the dominate carbon-carrying molecule instead of methane. Metals such as sodium and potassium become more common in the atmosphere, condensing into cloud decks. Additionally clouds containing titanium dioxide and vanadium oxide may also form. Type IV planets typically have a monochromatic color, but some may have hues of dark green or dark red, depending on the composition of the clouds. Most have a very low reflective albedo, reflecting less than 5% of the sunlight they receive.

Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit close to their parent stars, and most are tidally locked to their sun. Extremely violent weather occurs within the atmosphere, and most experience wind speeds of over 1,000 mph. The increased heat also increases the overall diameter of the planet; therefore, Type IV planets are often larger than Types Ib - Type III of the same mass.

Type V: Ferro-Silicate Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type V)

Ferro-Sillicate Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 1,400 K and 2,800 K (2,060 °F and 4,580 °F). These planets are viewed of as the traditional examples of either a Hot Jupiter or Hot Neptune. Temperatures are hot enough that cloud decks of silicates and iron form in the upper atmosphere. It is not uncommon for molten iron and molten glass rain to occur within the atmosphere. The color of these planets varies wildly depending on whether silicates or iron are more common. Type V planets with silicates dominating the cloud decks will appear bright azure blue in color from liquid droplets of glass scattering blue light. Type V planets where iron dominates the cloud decks will have a more gray-red color. The atmosphere is so hot that it glows a dull red.

Ferro-Silicate Gas/Ice Giants orbit very close to their parent stars with orbital periods of a few days or less and are tidally locked to the sun. Their diameters are puffed up by the intense solar radiation, and the planets often have unusually low average densities, lower than that of even Saturn. Weather is wild in the atmosphere, with winds blowing in excess of 2,000 mph. The winds are so fast and transport heat so efficiently that the night side is almost as hot as the day side despite being in perpetual darkness. A prime example of this planet type would be 51 Pegasi B. (Note this was the first type of planet discovered orbiting a sun-like star outside of our solar system). Due to the close proximity to their parent stars, these planets are constantly loosing atmospheric gasses, and appear almost comet-like from the distance.

Type VI: Carbon Class Gas/Ice Giant

Carbon Class Gas/Ice giants occupy a temperature range above 2,800 K (4,580 °F), and are considered to be the rarest type of planet. These planets have cloud decks composed of carbon. Cloud decks of solid carbon crystals will be composed of graphite, while at deeper depths liquid diamond rain will occur. Above 2,800 K most chemical compounds break down into their constituent elements, and the atmosphere of these planets have more in common with that of a star than a planet. The atmosphere is primarily black in color, reflecting less than 1% of the light the planet receives. The planet is only visible because temperatures are hot enough that the atmosphere and clouds glow dim red in color.

Type VI planets orbit close enough to their parent stars that they have orbital periods of less than a day, are tidally locked to the sun, and lose thousands of tons of their atmospheres every second. Very weird chemical reactions occur at the boundary line with the night side, where chemicals such as water are broken into hydrogen and oxygen during the day, and re-condense into water vapor at night. Ice giants of this class would only be short-lived since they are not massive enough to retain their hydrogen-helium atmospheres for more than a few tens of millions of years. Carbon-Class Gas giants can be the largest planets in terms of diameter, their size extremely bloated by intense solar radiation.

This is merely my input on classifying giant type planets, which I use in my hobby of designing my own star systems. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free to do so.