Rationalizing a Firefly - Serenity type setting

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Except that in reality, gas giant moons would be within the radiation belts and inhospitable to earth like life. Not to mention have extremely long day/night cycles, again not very earth like.

Originally Posted by mindstalk

In reality, Jupiter is the only one of our gas giants to have a huge and deadly radiation belt, and Callisto isn't within it. Long rotation periods seem more likely, given locking to synchronicity and multi-day revolutions around the giant.

If a moon is big enough to retain a liquid core, it's likely to also have a magnetic field of its own, making the GG's less of an issue.

Also, moons either outside the outer edge of the GG's radiation belts are likely not tidelocked. Plus, they need a liquid core to generate a magnetic field themselves so that they are survivable from the solar radiation.

And ones closer in than the inner edge of a GG's radiation belt are protected by the radiation belt itself to a degree. Further, they're close enough in that tidelock ceases to be a major issue.

Originally Posted by mindstalk

Sure, but there's no reason to think our Jovian satellites are exhaustive of the possibilities. Planetary science is so far a long string of surprises.

Amen!