Activity for Alexader Ferguson‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Question	—	In a world without stars, how would travelers navigate at night? On Earth, sailors would navigate the oceans at night by using the stars as guides; since there are no landmarks in the ocean like there are on land (save for the occasional island), that's pretty much all they have. In my world, however, there are no stars; there is only the world, the sun, and the o... (more)	—	over 4 years ago
Question	—	What would be the effects of replacing the Moon with an Earth-like planet? Let's assume that for whatever strange -- probably magical -- reason, the Moon was suddenly and instantaneously replaced by a planet identical to Earth in terms of mass and size. Its orbital path is identical to that of the former Moon. Aside from deciding how the planet got there in the first place,... (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Question	—	How does one calculate the tidal heating of a satellite? I've been searching for hours, and most formulas I can find use complex/imaginary numbers or variables that I don't know or can't find out (such as the imaginary part of the planet's love number, which leads into the complex number thing). What's the "simplest" equation you guys know of? (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Is it possible to calculate the extent of a planet's polar ice caps? If so, what's the equation (or series of equations) for this, and what variables do I need to take into account? EDIT: the planet in my setting is rather "chilly" (around 9.35 Celsius average) with about 20% of the surface covered in water. What I really need is a way to get a a guideline to estimat... (more)	—	over 7 years ago