Dune: what the climate of Arrakis can tell us about the hunt for habitable exoplanets

By Alex Farnsworth, Senior Research Associate in Meteorology, University of Bristol
Michael Farnsworth, Research Lead Future Electrical Machines Manufacturing Hub, University of Sheffield
Sebastian Steinig, Research Associate in Paleoclimate Modelling, University of Bristol

Frank Herbert’s Dune is epic sci-fi storytelling with an environmental message at its heart. The novels and movies are set on the desert planet of Arrakis, which various characters dream of transforming into a greener world – much like some envision for Mars today.

We investigated Arrakis using a climate model, a computer program similar to those used to give weather forecasts. We found the world that Herbert had created, well before climate…

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