How could a planet have a sky without stars at night?












2














Is it possible for a planet in our part of the galaxy to have a night without stars?



I'm looking for some kind of natural phenomena that would hide the stars, but allow the sun to rise and fall as normal. The atmosphere and day/night cycles should be unaffected.



It is the basis for a society that develops into the modern age without an interest in outer space.



This can be a solar system with only one planet.






space astronomy solar-system galactic







share|improve this question




















  • 2




    No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
    – JBH
    1 hour ago
















2














Is it possible for a planet in our part of the galaxy to have a night without stars?



I'm looking for some kind of natural phenomena that would hide the stars, but allow the sun to rise and fall as normal. The atmosphere and day/night cycles should be unaffected.



It is the basis for a society that develops into the modern age without an interest in outer space.



This can be a solar system with only one planet.






space astronomy solar-system galactic







share|improve this question




















  • 2




    No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
    – JBH
    1 hour ago














2












2








2







Is it possible for a planet in our part of the galaxy to have a night without stars?



I'm looking for some kind of natural phenomena that would hide the stars, but allow the sun to rise and fall as normal. The atmosphere and day/night cycles should be unaffected.



It is the basis for a society that develops into the modern age without an interest in outer space.



This can be a solar system with only one planet.






space astronomy solar-system galactic







share|improve this question















Is it possible for a planet in our part of the galaxy to have a night without stars?



I'm looking for some kind of natural phenomena that would hide the stars, but allow the sun to rise and fall as normal. The atmosphere and day/night cycles should be unaffected.



It is the basis for a society that develops into the modern age without an interest in outer space.



This can be a solar system with only one planet.






space astronomy solar-system galactic




space astronomy solar-system galactic






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 1 hour ago









JBH

40.1k589192




40.1k589192










asked 1 hour ago









cgTag

1,155214




1,155214








  • 2




    No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
    – JBH
    1 hour ago














  • 2




    No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
    – JBH
    1 hour ago








2




2




No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
– JBH
1 hour ago




No stars. No moon (I assume). You always have a sun. You'll have clouds. No asteroids? No meteors? I'm not convinced you can create the basis you're looking for. IMO, intelligent primates will always look at birds and want to fly, and they'll always want to fly higher, and God is almost always up where the sun is.... I'm not feeling this one.
– JBH
1 hour ago










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















4














Perhaps their planet is on the inside of a giant Dyson sphere that was created by an ancient civilization.



This would be a vast solid shell that surrounds their entire solar system, the inside of which is covered with solar panels in order to collect as near as possible to 100% of the energy output of their sun. Naturally, this would block their view of the rest of the galaxy as well.



As for why the ancient civilization who built it left this one planet on the inside, that's up to you to decide. Maybe they saw that it had some life forms that might potentially develop intelligence some day and didn't want to just kill them off, so they left them where they were, while dismantling all the rest of the planets in the system to build the spere?






share|improve this answer





















  • Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
    – JBH
    1 hour ago








  • 1




    For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
    – elemtilas
    40 mins ago



















3














One possibility is for the surface of the planet to be covered in highly luminous matter. Perhaps all the surface is an interconnected of bioluminescent life.



There is no moon (assumed because you make no mention) and the high levels of light pollution at night will blot the stars out.



You could combine with a naturally hazy atmosphere and cloud cover to a) further blot the stars and b) reflect all that light pollution back to the surface, further brightening it at night.



Normal urban terrestrial light pollution (before and during the great 2003 Northeast Blackout) to give you an idea:



enter image description here






share|improve this answer





















  • Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
    – Alexander
    29 mins ago



















2














Dust cloud.



The star may be residing in a duct cloud with no other stars nearby. This interstellar dust will create a faint nighttime glow, but can be thick enough that no other star's light can be visible on the planet.






share|improve this answer





























    1














    there are many ways. especially if it's just you don't see the stars.



    there could be a constant storm like on Jupiter and in 'All Summer In a Day' by Ray Bradbury.



    Venus has an atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid completely cover the planet.



    basically, clouds covering the entire planet would do the trick.



    'light pollution' would also make it so the stars can't be seen because the ground is so bright.
    Night Sky in Las Vegas Which is always full of light especially at night
    enter image description here



    vs the Idaho dark sky preserve
    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer





















      Your Answer





      StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
      return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
      StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
      StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
      });
      });
      }, "mathjax-editing");

      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "579"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });














      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f135411%2fhow-could-a-planet-have-a-sky-without-stars-at-night%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes








      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      4














      Perhaps their planet is on the inside of a giant Dyson sphere that was created by an ancient civilization.



      This would be a vast solid shell that surrounds their entire solar system, the inside of which is covered with solar panels in order to collect as near as possible to 100% of the energy output of their sun. Naturally, this would block their view of the rest of the galaxy as well.



      As for why the ancient civilization who built it left this one planet on the inside, that's up to you to decide. Maybe they saw that it had some life forms that might potentially develop intelligence some day and didn't want to just kill them off, so they left them where they were, while dismantling all the rest of the planets in the system to build the spere?






      share|improve this answer





















      • Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
        – JBH
        1 hour ago








      • 1




        For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
        – elemtilas
        40 mins ago
















      4














      Perhaps their planet is on the inside of a giant Dyson sphere that was created by an ancient civilization.



      This would be a vast solid shell that surrounds their entire solar system, the inside of which is covered with solar panels in order to collect as near as possible to 100% of the energy output of their sun. Naturally, this would block their view of the rest of the galaxy as well.



      As for why the ancient civilization who built it left this one planet on the inside, that's up to you to decide. Maybe they saw that it had some life forms that might potentially develop intelligence some day and didn't want to just kill them off, so they left them where they were, while dismantling all the rest of the planets in the system to build the spere?






      share|improve this answer





















      • Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
        – JBH
        1 hour ago








      • 1




        For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
        – elemtilas
        40 mins ago














      4












      4








      4






      Perhaps their planet is on the inside of a giant Dyson sphere that was created by an ancient civilization.



      This would be a vast solid shell that surrounds their entire solar system, the inside of which is covered with solar panels in order to collect as near as possible to 100% of the energy output of their sun. Naturally, this would block their view of the rest of the galaxy as well.



      As for why the ancient civilization who built it left this one planet on the inside, that's up to you to decide. Maybe they saw that it had some life forms that might potentially develop intelligence some day and didn't want to just kill them off, so they left them where they were, while dismantling all the rest of the planets in the system to build the spere?






      share|improve this answer












      Perhaps their planet is on the inside of a giant Dyson sphere that was created by an ancient civilization.



      This would be a vast solid shell that surrounds their entire solar system, the inside of which is covered with solar panels in order to collect as near as possible to 100% of the energy output of their sun. Naturally, this would block their view of the rest of the galaxy as well.



      As for why the ancient civilization who built it left this one planet on the inside, that's up to you to decide. Maybe they saw that it had some life forms that might potentially develop intelligence some day and didn't want to just kill them off, so they left them where they were, while dismantling all the rest of the planets in the system to build the spere?







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 1 hour ago









      Admiral Jota

      470111




      470111












      • Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
        – JBH
        1 hour ago








      • 1




        For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
        – elemtilas
        40 mins ago


















      • Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
        – JBH
        1 hour ago








      • 1




        For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
        – elemtilas
        40 mins ago
















      Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
      – JBH
      1 hour ago






      Paint the inner surface matte black and you have a winner. It's not a natural phenomena, but a decent alternative. Well done!
      – JBH
      1 hour ago






      1




      1




      For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
      – elemtilas
      40 mins ago




      For the (relatively) primitive people on the planet, it is a natural phenomenon! It's literally the edge of the universe!
      – elemtilas
      40 mins ago











      3














      One possibility is for the surface of the planet to be covered in highly luminous matter. Perhaps all the surface is an interconnected of bioluminescent life.



      There is no moon (assumed because you make no mention) and the high levels of light pollution at night will blot the stars out.



      You could combine with a naturally hazy atmosphere and cloud cover to a) further blot the stars and b) reflect all that light pollution back to the surface, further brightening it at night.



      Normal urban terrestrial light pollution (before and during the great 2003 Northeast Blackout) to give you an idea:



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer





















      • Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
        – Alexander
        29 mins ago
















      3














      One possibility is for the surface of the planet to be covered in highly luminous matter. Perhaps all the surface is an interconnected of bioluminescent life.



      There is no moon (assumed because you make no mention) and the high levels of light pollution at night will blot the stars out.



      You could combine with a naturally hazy atmosphere and cloud cover to a) further blot the stars and b) reflect all that light pollution back to the surface, further brightening it at night.



      Normal urban terrestrial light pollution (before and during the great 2003 Northeast Blackout) to give you an idea:



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer





















      • Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
        – Alexander
        29 mins ago














      3












      3








      3






      One possibility is for the surface of the planet to be covered in highly luminous matter. Perhaps all the surface is an interconnected of bioluminescent life.



      There is no moon (assumed because you make no mention) and the high levels of light pollution at night will blot the stars out.



      You could combine with a naturally hazy atmosphere and cloud cover to a) further blot the stars and b) reflect all that light pollution back to the surface, further brightening it at night.



      Normal urban terrestrial light pollution (before and during the great 2003 Northeast Blackout) to give you an idea:



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer












      One possibility is for the surface of the planet to be covered in highly luminous matter. Perhaps all the surface is an interconnected of bioluminescent life.



      There is no moon (assumed because you make no mention) and the high levels of light pollution at night will blot the stars out.



      You could combine with a naturally hazy atmosphere and cloud cover to a) further blot the stars and b) reflect all that light pollution back to the surface, further brightening it at night.



      Normal urban terrestrial light pollution (before and during the great 2003 Northeast Blackout) to give you an idea:



      enter image description here







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 32 mins ago









      elemtilas

      11k22554




      11k22554












      • Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
        – Alexander
        29 mins ago


















      • Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
        – Alexander
        29 mins ago
















      Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
      – Alexander
      29 mins ago




      Interesting, but in order to have light pollution we need a source of light. Moonless starless sky implies that such source must be elsewhere.
      – Alexander
      29 mins ago











      2














      Dust cloud.



      The star may be residing in a duct cloud with no other stars nearby. This interstellar dust will create a faint nighttime glow, but can be thick enough that no other star's light can be visible on the planet.






      share|improve this answer


























        2














        Dust cloud.



        The star may be residing in a duct cloud with no other stars nearby. This interstellar dust will create a faint nighttime glow, but can be thick enough that no other star's light can be visible on the planet.






        share|improve this answer
























          2












          2








          2






          Dust cloud.



          The star may be residing in a duct cloud with no other stars nearby. This interstellar dust will create a faint nighttime glow, but can be thick enough that no other star's light can be visible on the planet.






          share|improve this answer












          Dust cloud.



          The star may be residing in a duct cloud with no other stars nearby. This interstellar dust will create a faint nighttime glow, but can be thick enough that no other star's light can be visible on the planet.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 32 mins ago









          Alexander

          18.7k42972




          18.7k42972























              1














              there are many ways. especially if it's just you don't see the stars.



              there could be a constant storm like on Jupiter and in 'All Summer In a Day' by Ray Bradbury.



              Venus has an atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid completely cover the planet.



              basically, clouds covering the entire planet would do the trick.



              'light pollution' would also make it so the stars can't be seen because the ground is so bright.
              Night Sky in Las Vegas Which is always full of light especially at night
              enter image description here



              vs the Idaho dark sky preserve
              enter image description here






              share|improve this answer


























                1














                there are many ways. especially if it's just you don't see the stars.



                there could be a constant storm like on Jupiter and in 'All Summer In a Day' by Ray Bradbury.



                Venus has an atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid completely cover the planet.



                basically, clouds covering the entire planet would do the trick.



                'light pollution' would also make it so the stars can't be seen because the ground is so bright.
                Night Sky in Las Vegas Which is always full of light especially at night
                enter image description here



                vs the Idaho dark sky preserve
                enter image description here






                share|improve this answer
























                  1












                  1








                  1






                  there are many ways. especially if it's just you don't see the stars.



                  there could be a constant storm like on Jupiter and in 'All Summer In a Day' by Ray Bradbury.



                  Venus has an atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid completely cover the planet.



                  basically, clouds covering the entire planet would do the trick.



                  'light pollution' would also make it so the stars can't be seen because the ground is so bright.
                  Night Sky in Las Vegas Which is always full of light especially at night
                  enter image description here



                  vs the Idaho dark sky preserve
                  enter image description here






                  share|improve this answer












                  there are many ways. especially if it's just you don't see the stars.



                  there could be a constant storm like on Jupiter and in 'All Summer In a Day' by Ray Bradbury.



                  Venus has an atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid completely cover the planet.



                  basically, clouds covering the entire planet would do the trick.



                  'light pollution' would also make it so the stars can't be seen because the ground is so bright.
                  Night Sky in Las Vegas Which is always full of light especially at night
                  enter image description here



                  vs the Idaho dark sky preserve
                  enter image description here







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 28 mins ago









                  Rowyn Alloway

                  4531212




                  4531212






























                      draft saved

                      draft discarded




















































                      Thanks for contributing an answer to Worldbuilding Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid …



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                      Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                      Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid …



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f135411%2fhow-could-a-planet-have-a-sky-without-stars-at-night%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      -

                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Eastern Orthodox Church

                      Image
                      Not to be confused with Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Christianity, or Eastern Catholic Churches. "Eastern Orthodoxy", "Orthodox Church", "Orthodox Catholic Church", and "Orthodox Christian Church" redirect here. For other uses, see Orthodox (disambiguation). This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably . The readable prose size is 132 kilobytes. Please consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding or removing subheadings. ( January 2018 ) Part of a series on the Eastern Orthodox Church Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia Overview Structure Theology (History of theology) Liturgy Church history Holy Mysteries View of salvation View of Mary View of icons Background Crucifixion / Resurrection / Ascension of Jesus Christianity Christian Church Apostolic succession Four Marks of the Church Orthodoxy Organization Autocephaly Patriarchate ...
                      Read more

                      Zagreb

                      Image
                      This article is about the Croatian capital city. For other uses, see Zagreb (disambiguation). City in City of Zagreb, Croatia Zagreb City Grad Zagreb City of Zagreb Clockwise, from top: St. Mark's Square, Croatian State Archives, Zagreb Tram, Art Pavilion, Cibona & HOTO towers and Croatian National Theatre. Flag Coat of arms Zagreb Location of Zagreb in Croatia Show map of Croatia Zagreb Zagreb (Europe) Show map of Europe Coordinates: 45°49′N 15°59′E  /  45.817°N 15.983°E  / 45.817; 15.983 Coordinates: 45°49′N 15°59′E  /  45.817°N 15.983°E  / 45.817; 15.983 Country   Croatia County City of Zagreb RC diocese 1094 Free royal city 1242 Unified 1850 Subdivisions 17 city districts 218 local committees (70 settlements) Government  • Type Mayor-Council  • Mayor Milan Bandić (BM 365)  • City Assembly 51 members BM 365, ZL, NS-R (14) SDP, GLAS, HNS, HSS, NH-PS (13) ...
                      Read more

                      Understanding the information contained in the Deep Space Network XML data?

                      Image
                      up vote 1 down vote favorite NASA's Deep Space Network activity can be viewed conveniently at https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html but if you would like data in a more raw XML form, it can be accessed as described in this answer Below is a small Python script that reads the XML into a list of dictionaries, and saves it to disk as a JSON. The dictionaries are organized at the higher level by dish, then by spacecraft per dish. Question: What are the most-likely meanings of all the data field contained in the Deep Space Network XML data? This is the example url from the other answer, used in the script below: https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/data/1365107113.xml def dictify(r,root=True): # https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2148119/how-to-convert-an-xml-string-to-a-dictionary-in-python/30923963#30923963 if root: ret...
                      Read more