this is basically a place to post some interesting wikipedia articles you may find and discuss them. I'll start with a very interesting piece I came across:
A Chthonian planet (pronounced /ˈkθoʊniən/, sometimes misspelled Cthonian), is a hypothetical class of celestial objects resulting from the stripping away of a gas giant's hydrogen and helium atmosphere and outer layers. Such atmospheric stripping is a likely result of proximity to a star. The remaining rocky or metallic core would resemble a terrestrial planet in many respects.[1]
HD 209458b (Osiris) is an example of a planet that is in the process of having its atmosphere stripped away, though it is not itself a Chthonian planet nor is it expected to become one in the near future.
COROT-7b may be the first Chthonian planet discovered.[2]
Chthonia χθων means "of the Earth" in Greek. The term was coined by Hébrard et al., since the term Chthonian generally refer to Greek deities from hot infernal underground.
Here's another, I'll try to make them mostly space themed
A carbon planet, also referred to as a diamond planet or carbide planet, is a theoretical type of planet proposed by Marc Kuchner that could form if protoplanetary discs are carbon-rich and oxygen-poor. According to planetary science, it would develop differently from Earth, Mars and Venus, planets made up mostly of silicon-oxygen compounds.
Such a planet would probably have an iron-rich core like the known terrestrial planets. Surrounding that would be silicon carbide and titanium carbide. Above that, a layer of carbon in the form of graphite, possibly with a kilometers-thick substratum of diamond if there is sufficient pressure. The surface would contain hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Extraterrestrial life might be possible if water is present, but the highly reducing environment could result in metabolism taking the opposite approach to that of terrestrial life, with oxygen-bearing compounds being eaten as food to react with the carbon-based atmosphere.
The pulsar PSR 1257+12 may possess carbon planets that formed from the disruption of a carbon-producing star. Carbon planets might also be located near the galactic core, where stars have more carbon.
Carbon planets are predicted to be of similar diameter to silicate and water planets of the same mass, potentially making them difficult to distinguish
That last one sounds like the perfect start to a planet-sized ship... nothing like a kilometer thick layer of diamond under a layer of granite for a hull... :-D
No super-race should be without one... :roll:
-Av-
Mmh, did the cthonians ever have something like that? :-o