Avatar's Pandora is the wildest,
most beautiful and most deadly place
in the galaxy.
I mean,
who wouldn't want to live here?
Welcome to Pandora.
Located in the Alpha Centauri star system,
this world is shrouded in mystery
and the cinematic rules
created by James Cameron.
For starters, Pandora isn't even a planet.
It's a moon of a gas giant
just like our Jupiter.
If this deadly moon existed in real life,
it would have to follow the laws of physics.
That's good news for you.
Because on Pandora,
you'd weigh 20% less than you do on Earth.
Take advantage of that weaker gravity,
and leap across the untamed alien jungle.
But under no circumstances
should you ever jump in this water.
The gas giant Pandora revolves around is called Polyphemus.
This massive planet is only a bit smaller than Jupiter.
But it’s big enough to destroy all life
on the world you just arrived on.
Pandora and Polyphemus are tidally locked,
so only one side of this moon
is always facing its gas giant.
And that's dangerous.
Because it could cause tidal heating
when one side gets a slightly larger gravitational pull than the other.
Sure, this could create floating mountains
along the magnetic waves of Polyphemus.
Except Pandora's surface wouldn't be
anything like it is in the movie.
In reality, it would look more like Jupiter's moon, Io,
which also happens to be
the most volcanically active world in the Solar System.
And if that wasn't enough,
Pandora's sky would be radioactive.
Well, sort of.
If the magnetosphere of Polyphemus
was just as big as Jupiter's,
Pandora would be trapped within it.
There, it would be bombarded
with charged particles from its own star system.
If Pandora didn't have its magnetosphere,
you'd have no buffer from these intense rays.
You'd better wear
a What If-approved protection suit.
And trust us,
you would want to have this suit.
Because even if it wasn't radioactive,
the atmosphere would still kill you.
On Pandora,
the air would be mostly made up of carbon dioxide and xenon.
Both of these gases in high concentration
would instantly suffocate you.
And that rotten smell?
That's the hydrogen sulfide.
It won't kill you,
but you'll wish you were dead.
You might have to live underground.
Or maybe even underwater.
In Avatar: The Way of Water,
you’ll dive under the waters of Pandora.
But if this planet existed,
the water could kill you.
That’s because that water would likely be highly acidic,
thanks to the high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
It could be so bad it would dissolve
all sea life that has shells.
And that would severely affect the food chain.
Even worse, one dip in these waters could burn your skin off.
You'd need to make sure that protection suit was waterproof.
But if you set up your life in the ocean,
you'd miss the beauty above the surface.
Since Pandora and its gas giant are tidally locked,
Polyphemus would always be visible in the sky.
You would watch Alpha Centauri A
rise and set just as our Sun does,
but Polyphemus would never leave
your sight if you were on Pandora's right side.
The other side of the moon
would never get this magnificent view.
This comes with some tradeoffs.
Like you'd have a hard time falling asleep.
The Alpha Centauri star system
Pandora is located in has not just one,
not two, but three suns.
Pandora would orbit around Alpha Centauri A.
But another star, Alpha Centauri B,
would also be sending a lot of light Pandora's way.
It burns 2,300 times as bright
as the full Moon on Earth.
And you wouldn't even be able to watch
Netflix during your sleepless nights.
Standard electronics wouldn't last long in this environment,
not with all that radiation
and electrical interference.
You'd need space marine-grade technology
to survive in this world.
At least there would be enough animals
and plants for you to feast on.
Only I'd recommend running chemical tests
for heavy metals and strong acids before you eat anything.
Undetected toxins could destroy
your kidneys and liver.
And there might be an unexpected side effect.
If you ate too much glowing food,
you might become bioluminescent.
Pandora would be a world
of incredible species and extreme wildlife.
Hey, soon enough you might be taming
an Ikran for the commute around your strange and lethal home.
But maybe you should think about settling on a different exoplanet.
What if we relocated every human to Proxima B?
Well, fire up the thrusters,
because that's a story for another WHAT IF.