What would it be like to fly through over the surface of a halo world, or zoom through a giant space habitat so enormous that it's filled with diverse biospheres and cities? Now you can find out.
In the videos we've collected here, concept artists show you what it would look like to see a completely artificial environment in space. The results are breathtaking. And some of them are inspired by environments from science fiction novels, too.
Ringworld
In Larry Niven's Ringworld novels, a group of mysterious aliens have constructed a giant ring that encircles a star. Inside the ring is another ring, comprised of "shadow squares," which cast shadows over the inner side of the Ringworld, creating alternating night and day. In this video, we fly over the surface of the Ringworld and see what it would be like to live on a world that is flat.
Rama
Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama features a mysterious, cylindrical spaceship that's packed with cities, continents, and seas. Here's one artist's vision of what a Rama-esque ship would look like.
"Bubble World" Inside an Asteroid
In books like the newly-released Leviathan Wakes, as well as Greg Bear's Eon, there are lush habitats built inside asteroids. And that's what we see here, first from the outside and then from inside.
Small Colony in Earth Orbit
This is the smallest of the space colonies that we see here - it's basically a much tinier version of the ringworld - a space station in orbit around Earth that spins to create gravity. Inside, as you can see, the residents are living in pleasant, bucolic towns surrounded by farms and water.
Top illustration by YAdam on ConceptArt.org