The limits of animal life on Tatooine

I’ve wondered about the implications for Earth’s climate when Jupiter becomes a star at the end of 2010: The Year We Make Contact. It’s presented as the start of a new era of peace and prosperity, but maybe it would make our climate more like that of Tatooine.

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Does it count when said something forms thin patches of discoloration on the surfaces of sand grains? And absorbs just the blue light so its yellow color mimics the underlying color of iron(III)-dyed silicates?

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Duh, their faces.

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The two creatures of Hoth make as much sense. I don’t know if Taun Tauns were native to Hoth, but if so they suck at it, freezing to death and all. And unless they eat snow, there is no food on Hoth. And if Taun Tauns can’t live there, then Wampas couldn’t either.

But yeah - that is all nitpicking the window dressings.

I’m shocked - shocked - that this children’s movie series, full as it is with implausible and inconsistent physics, characters, economies, technologies, histories, institutions, etc. also has implausible biology.
This is a series, frankly, where the fans have given far more thought to realism and consistency than the creators did. I can see why it’s popular - the films are a constant stream of scenes, characters and images lifted from good books and films that are individually compelling. They just don’t add up to anything.

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Not sure if you are talking about the sand plankton or the force.

Sand plankton are as invisible as ocean plankton. I’ll tell you, I’ve seen the ocean and I’ve never seen plankton except in books.

As for the force, you’ve got it backwards. Suns are powered by the force, no the other way around. Come on, it’s the force.

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Wait, does that mean the Sand People are actually Fremen scum?

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So you’re saying they eat Midichlorians?

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Is plausibility required or even a good thing in a story of this sort? It’s a Western set in space. Who cares if the animals make no sense? Nothing makes sense!

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Graboids! :smiley:

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The Atacama Desert in Chile is about the closest we can get to Tatooine on Earth. It’s chilly and dry. Some moisture only comes from morning fogs in areas that never see precipitation. Even so, because it borders the ocean, animals do live there.

It’s a WWII Western Samurai movie set in space, no less.

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There are real life examples right here on earth that science doesn’t know exactly how they do what they do. That doesn’t make them any less real.

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Yep :slight_smile:
Was just sticking with the theme.
(Personally I’m a fan of suplhur-loving organisms.)

Sorry catgrin, I meant to reply to the thread and not your post.

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Luke Atreides vs. Jabba the Harkonnen.

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It gets even better: If there is hardly any plant lifer, where the force do they get their oxygen from?

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If we’re going to put in the effort to make Tatooine make sense…well, it seems strange that everyone is insisting there has to be some kind of separate flora. Couldn’t you just as well suppose some of the animals are capable of photosynthesis?

That’s not unheard of even on Earth, although it’s usually found in aquatic things like corals and sea slugs; it doesn’t really give them energy to be very active, but maybe something could store it up after resting for long periods of time.

Anyway, I think the best explanation for why Banthas have long hair despite the heat is that it’s to grow symbiotic algae the way sloths have, because that sounds cool and sloths are cool. Now, if somebody could explain the Sarlacc, I’d be impressed.

I’m taking this opportunity to complain that there are now tick parasites named Midichloria. I thought everyone had tacitly agreed to forget that whole thing ever happened, but I guess not.

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The dewbacks just bothered me because a hippo-sized animal wouldn’t be able to support itself on those bird-like legs. A massive animal would need thick stocky legs with locking knees, like an elephant or a sauropod.

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I remember Tunisia, too!