Deducing planetary properties from its calendar?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the feasibility of deducing planetary properties such as size and distance from a star based solely on calendar-related information like the length of a day and a year. The user presents two fictional planets, Tender with a 20-hour day and 300-day year, and Ardel with a 33-hour day and 80-day year, questioning the implications of these values. It is established that while day length and year length provide some insights, they are insufficient for accurate deductions without additional data regarding the star's characteristics and planetary mass. The user is encouraged to explore resources like videos from Artifexian for effective worldbuilding techniques.

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  • Understanding of basic astronomical concepts, including planetary orbits and star types.
  • Familiarity with worldbuilding techniques in science fiction writing.
  • Knowledge of gravitational physics and its impact on orbital mechanics.
  • Ability to interpret and apply mathematical relationships in astronomy.
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  • Research the Kepler's laws of planetary motion to understand orbital dynamics.
  • Learn about stellar classification and its influence on planetary systems.
  • Explore resources on gravitational physics to grasp how mass affects orbits.
  • Watch Artifexian's videos on worldbuilding for practical techniques in creating believable planetary systems.
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This discussion is beneficial for science fiction writers, worldbuilders, and anyone interested in the scientific principles behind planetary systems and their characteristics.

Spiralbound
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I'm writing a story involving multiple sentient species, interstellar travel, and a long history of colonisation. My main character is a Human living on the planet "Tender", whose ancestors colonised it from the planet "Ardel" a few centuries ago.

Is it possible to arbitrarily write up the calendar based info (length of day, length of year, etc.) and deduce from this such things as size of the planet, distance from its sun, etc? For that matter, if all we know is the timekeeping details of a fictitious world, is that enough to deduce any other factors?

For reference, my tentative values are this:
Planet Tender has a 20 hour day and a 300 day year.
Planet Ardel has a 33 hour day and an 80 day year.

Assume a 60 minute hour in both cases.

If one can't deduce much from this, what extra information is needed? All the material I've found so far starts with the star's characteristics, and then working down to the details of its planets. I want to work in the opposite direction if possible so I can specify certain conditions (day length, gravity, etc.) and work out any matching info (star type, climate, planet size, etc.).
 
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Day length and year length don't tell you anything specific about the planet's size, nor the orbit. You'd think that the planet with the shorter year would be closer to its sun but orbital speed also depends on the mass of the objects. In this case Ardel could be further away from its sun but have a fast orbit because its sun masses more. Don't fret though, it won't be that hard for you to decide on figures for your systems that will fit with what you have so far.

I'd suggest watching this video, and other videos produced by artifexian. He's done some great, easily accessible guides on how to worldbuild planets.



If you get stuck with any of the maths you can always post here.
 

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