Space whales

[50gens]

quotes

@willow

drag based propulsion system

what is that

@willow

all it would require is code

only things that can exist in real life will be in thrive, and i think there can be space whales

@willow

gravity of this planet is not yet defined

gravity is defined

@willow

asteroids could most definitely house life if they were in any sort of goldilocks zone asteroids have plenty of gasses and water

goldilock zone is for planets, asteroids don’t have atmospheres

@willow

hollow asteroids are a thing and can contain gasses and water

how would a hollow asteroid be filled with presurised gas and water(it didn’t form in a pressurised enviroment), and even if it was, it would be dark inside and there wouldn’t be photosynthesis

@willow

i wasn’t done writing it

you should have

@OoferDoofer

Then it wouldn’t be an asteroid

I wish this was constructive critisism

@willow

a large asteroid spinning asteroid would also work for that

edit: earth’s magnetic field is caused by moving electric fields, how could that happen in an asteroid?

@willow

gas giants do i meant it would be orbiting a gas giant which would heat it on the dark side by pulling on it and protect it from radiation

“dark side” doesn’t have anything to do with being heated. And gas giants heat only large moons close to them, because the closer side and farther side would be subjected to different gravity ^[1], the shape of the moon would elongate and friction would cause it to heat

@TwilightWings21

At that point if it was large enough it would no longer be an asteroid, but a moon, which is a different conversation entirely

its nice that we know what we should be talking about

@OoferDoofer

At which point it would become a moon - even if it was tiny. Which is exactly what I said previously

then why did you say it again?

Now I want to make a summary of the solutions to the problems of space life, not a lot of people seem to have believed in its possibility. I will attempt to stop the asteroid talk, and then convince you for the possibility of space whales starting from a planet.

A cell is a mixture of molecules in water surrounded by oil, so it needs liquid water. The triple point of water is at 273 kelvins and 0.006 atmospheres, which doesn’t exist in space. It needs to be hotter and denser than that to to remain a liquid.

• Temperature and heat

Heat generated is proportional to the volume and heat lost is proportional to surface area, so only a big creature can stay warm. That also means a space whale has to start from a planet and then go to space, there wouldn’t be the water to support a microscopic colony on an asteroid as it evolves into larger sizes, it has to carry its own water. The creature can also change its albido to or use insulation in addition to just being big.

• Pressure

It can have an exoskeleton/shell that works like a mechanical counterpressure suit. It also protects against micrometeorites.

• Radiation

@50gens

It can carry a lot of copies of its original dna in stem cells in its center, covered with a thick layer of water(protecting against radiation) so that it could replace its cells as old ones mutate into cancer or become disfunctional.

• Oxygen and carbondioxide

The oxygen it breathes would be disolved in its blood, and it would have an organ dedicated to storing it. Plants would be self sufficiant (instead of infinitely growing like our plants) and have photosynthesis speed equal to respiration. All space whales may end up being plants, a way to create oxygen when you don’t have immediate acces to it would be handy even to herbivores or carnivores, the other option is to hibernate very hard between the resupply points. Since getting into space requires movement, many of the space whales can start as animals with plant symbiotes with the plant characteristic slowly getting predominant from there on. Also, only the living parts of the creature needs to be hot, it can have parts carrying liquid oxygen or dry ice ^[2]

• Getting to space in the first place

I can think of 3 ways of getting of planet.

1. Running too fast

Flying wouldn’t work^[3] but what about running in a mountain above most of the atmosphere^[4], no?

2. Geysers

@Deathwake

My earlier post mentioned that some moons of gas giants have geysers with the strength to blast a life form into space. Those moons also happen to be theorized to have liquid water oceans for mantels. These oceans may have life, and that which lives in the crust may be quite resilient. Think water bears. And protists. A geyser could send them into space.

A geyser can send a large creature too. It can use a parachute to increase drag while standing in a geyser

3. Rockets

If humans can make rockets can go to space, why can’t nature? In a planet with lower gravity, rockets would be much more useful, since you could actually lift yourself. Imagine a jellyfish moving in air (not always, just when it wants to jump), pulling air from above and sending below like how our digestive tracks have two openings. It could later swich to carrying fuel instead of relying on musclepower to move air.

@Gotor

For it are needed Oxidizer and fuel. But no one known creature can survive at temperatures, which are in nozzle of rocket, when it goes up. Ok… Where will it store all the reagents? Right, nowhere. Most part of time it will be useless

The parts that would get hot could be made from dead tissue, and the creature can store reagents away from its body, only loading itself before takeoff.

On earth, the primary producers are plants and the biomass of everything that feeds from them depends on their biomass. But in space (at least before a journey to an asteroid is made), things are different. There is constant daylight and high energy wavelenghts, but your biomass is limited to the mass you brought from the planet. The creatures that make the journey between the planet and orbit would be the like the primary producers, and would trade water and calcium carbonate(or another source of carbon^[5]) in return for glucose synthesised in space^[6]

@Deus

so barren of immediate advantages for an organism

This wouldn’t come out of nowhere. Once enough organisms stay in the air for extended periods of time, wouldn’t letting a moss grow under your transparent skin make sense?

---

1. an asteroids closest and farthest sides are practically the same distance away from the gas giant ↩︎

2. like backpacks ↩︎

3. at least on its own ↩︎

4. or if the atmosphere is only in canyons and that is where life appeared ↩︎

5. a lot of elements would be in high demand ↩︎

6. especially when a dyson swarm is being built ↩︎