Hop David wrote:


The planet side would have frequent and long solar eclipses during the
spring and fall equinox and be eclipse free the summer and winter
solstice if the orbit plane is tilted enough.

Midnight during the spring and fall equinox would be of special
significance: The moon's shadow would be cast onto the center of the
gas giant as viewed from the moon's inhabitants.


This could lead to some very interesting breeding and migration cycles
in regard to such a planet's wildlife; assuming more than one moon (with
a gas giant that seems a very reasonable assumption, based on Jupiter
and Saturn) and the night sky would be a very interesting place
indeed...think of the strange religious beliefs that might evolve
regarding just what was going on overhead; our star-like appearing
planets generated a great deal of mythology just by their movement;
imagine what ones that become visible disks would do in this regard- are
they moving closer and further away, or are they shrinking and growing
in size? In fairly short order the first would be suspected to be the
case, based on the apparent reduction in size of people seen at a distance.
A hypothetical civilization on such a planet might have a fairly
accurate idea of true cosmology at a far earlier stage of its evolution
than any Earth civilization did. Imagine nomadic hunter-gatherers with
a understanding of a sun-centered universe with multiple worlds... is
one of the other moons where you go when you die?
Io would make a pretty good hell.

Pat