Which fictional planets have visibly moving moons? One of Nerthus' moons is so close that it is almost seen to move.
Children have been disappearing from Nerthusian farms as on another colonized planet in Anderson's Rustum History timeline.
In the Nerthusian night sky:
"Only the pale flood of the Milky Way looked the same."
-The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 3, p. 9.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I thought of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom (Mars) with its visibly moving moons.
And of course it was the Rustum History series story "The Queen of Air and Darkness," where children were disappearing.
Sean
Sean,
I think also Anderson's Aeneas?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I don't recollect any moons of Aeneas visibly moving. But I would need to reread THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN to be sure.
Sean
Sean,
See my post, "Aeneas And Barsoom," Monday 26 May 2014.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I did, thanks! And I'm surprised it is actually scientifically possible that some planets might have moons people on their surfaces could visibly observe moving.
Sean
Sean,
I question whether it is possible. ERB got everything wrong but PA is more likely to get it right.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I agree! ERB made up for a lot of absurd bloopers by sheer SKILL as a writer.
Sean
From the Wikipedia article on Phobos
"Phobos ... As a result, from the surface of Mars it appears to rise in the west, move across the sky in 4 hours and 15 minutes or less, and set in the east"
So the angular speed of Phobos would be roughly 0.7 degrees every minute, or more than the angular width of Luna (0.5 degrees) as viewed from the earth.
Not exactly 'hurtling', but easily observable against a non-light polluted sky, so the motion relative to stars is easily seen.
This is a non-blooper by ERB.
Further note: Tidal forces are making Phobos move closer to Mars and in some millions of years will be torn apart and the fragments fall on Mars. A moon orbiting a planet in less than the planet's day is a long term hazard for life on it.
I can think of ways to slowly move such a moon outward, so a technological civilization that thinks long term can remove the hazard.
Kaor, Jim!
Good, I'm glad ERB got Phobos right.
And I like that idea of Phobos being someday moved outwards, so people on Mars would not be endangered by its breakup.
Ad astra! Sean
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