Colonization of trans-Neptunian objects: Difference between revisions

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Colonists of such bodies could also build [[space habitat|rotating habitats]] or live in dug-out spaces and light them with [[fusion reactor]]s for thousands to millions of years before moving on.<ref>[[Carl E. Sagan]], "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space". Random House, 1994, ISBN 0-345-37659-5.</ref> Dyson and [[Carl Sagan]] envisioned that humanity could migrate to neighbouring star systems, which have similar clouds, by using natural objects as [[Generation ship|slow interstellar vessels]] with substantial natural resources; and that such interstellar colonies could also serve as way-stations for faster, smaller interstellar ships. Alternatively Richard Terra has proposed using the materials from the Oort-cloud objects to build vast starlight collecting arrays to power habitats, thus making an Oort-cloud community essentially independent of its central star and fusion fuel supplies.<ref>Richard P. Terra, "Islands in the Sky: Human Exploration and Settlement of the Oort Cloud", in ''Islands in the Sky: Bold New Ideas for Colonizing Space'', Stanley Schmidt and Robert Zubrin, eds. Wiley, 1996, ISBN 0-471-13561-5</ref> Gregory Matloff has suggested that [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] intelligences have already colonized the Oort cloud, easily avoiding observation by emulating the appearance of natural objects.<ref>Gregory Matloff, "The Re-enchantment of the Solar System", National Institute for Discovery Science, http://holtz.org/Library/Natural%20Science/Biology/Exobiology/The%20Reenchantment%20of%20the%20Solar%20System%20A%20Proposed%20Search%20for%20Local%20ET.htm</ref>
 
==In fiction==
 
[[Dwarf planets]] such as [[Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris]] and [[Makemake (dwarf planet)|Makemake]] may be excellent candidates for [[colonization]]. Their [[cryogenic]] temperatures and extreme distance from the inner [[Solar System]] could make them suitable for eccentric or outcast groups, or for groups conducting research forbidden elsewhere, as mentioned in [[Charles Stross]]' novel ''[[Saturn's Children (novel)|Saturn's Children]]'', the first [[novel]] set partly on Eris.
 
==References==