Assuming I could visit any one of our solar system’s nine plates (or it moons) with impunity; Which one woud have the coolest skyline?
(Odd question, I know.)
Well, what makes a skyline cool?? The features of the landscape on the horizon? Color contrast between ground and sky??
Offhand, I’d say that Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have thick, murky enough atmospheres that you’d be unlikely to see any skyline at all. Mercury, Pluto, and a lot of the moons have no atmosphere strong enough to create noticeable visible effects, which doesn’t put them out of the running entirely, but suggests that the sky will always be black almost all the time. (Is the sky black when the sun is shining out of it? Probably depends on just how close to the sun in the sky you’re talking about.)
I can’t really remember the details of Mars’ skyline, but that seems like a serious contender. The sky is possibly pinkish during the day, and you’ll have an impressive collection of craters and mountains out there. 
Not a planet, but on a moon. I’d say on a moon around Jupiter. You can see the Sun rises, you can see Jupiter rises, and likely see the other moons rise and fall too. That would make for a freaky lookin’ sky all hours of the day.
If you have a fairly recent model of computer, and a decent graphics card, you can go there for yourself.
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
Get your own perspective.
I’ll see your Jovian moon and raise you Titan. All of the above plus the rings of Saturn, only a few thousand miles away. The minute they build a hotel there, I’m selling my immediate family into slavery and buying a one-way ticket.
That was my first thought as well, but Titan has a nearly opaque atmosphere. I’d vote for Saturn’s moon Hyperion, since it has a bizarre eccentric orbit and no atmosphere.
This makes me wonder, are there any really good high-res photographs of other planets, from the point of view of someone (or something) on the surface? (or at least in the atmosphere) I’ve never seen one.
Mars would be my bet, what with it having thetallest volcano in the system. Io might be pretty cool, sinceyou’ve got it’s volcanos going of and Jupiter hanging in the sky.
While I’m not an astronomer, I think you’re asking for the impossible here. Hi-res pics just aren’t something we have from any of our planetary probes, yet. The time required to send such an image is prohibitive when you consider the the transmission rate that most probes can maintain. I don’t know the specs for Huygens, for example, but I’d be surprised if it did better that 1200 baud.
Remember, what we can do on terra firma is very different from building a probe that can withstand vacuum, solar radiation (plus solar storms - not just normal zoomies), and work reliably after spending years in transport with no maintenance. Heck, Gallileo was seriously hampered because it’s antenna did not extend fully after it sat in storage beyond what had been originally planned after the Challenger disaster.
The best you’re going to get is artist’s renditions, or CGI like the link up thread.
I’m going to go with the vote for Hyperion. Jupiter would be awesome, no question, but seeing the rings, and a gas giant together? Bliss. Just not from Titan. Hmm… let me take a look at something - I’ll post more in a few minutes.
I thought that there was a small moon of Saturn in a polar, or near polar, orbit. I can’t find it now and don’t feel like spending enough time for a REALLY exhaustive search. But that would be ideal - having Saturn rising over the horizon, with the rings full on.
I’d put my space hotel on the summit of the peak that sits in the center of the Herschel crater on Mimas, orbiting Saturn. It’s tidally locked which means you’d have a sweeping view of Saturn and it’s rings all day, every day, and surrounding you on all sides a huge rim wall rising some 5km high. Very impressive I would think, plus it’s made of mostly ice so… bonus.
Fair point, of course. For an alternative viewpoint I’d best have a little look at Celestia (which I’ve downloaded now, and is going to waste an unfeasible amount of my time henceforward) and see which one I like best. lokij’s suggestion is great, but of course you miss out on Saturnrise with a tidally-locked moon. Call me greedy.
None of the outer planets/moons would look like you think. As the Sun is much dimmer at that distance, everything will look dull and dark. The probe photos you see don’t look like they would to the human eye.
Sadly, Earth probably has the best skyline; to the human eye, at least.
Iapetus is looking good for that hotel. Not so close to the Rings that it looks like you can get out and walk on them, unlike Mimas (or one of the really close-in ones like Pan) but you have enough inclination in the orbit that you see them edge-on and somewhat face-on throughout the “month”, and enough eccentricity that you get plenty of libration, so you can get planetary rise and set. Saturn is looking several times larger than the full Moon, and you also see a whole bunch of satellites in closer orbits come whirling past from time to time.
Der Trihs, Saturn’s a first-magnitude object seen from here, so it’s considerably brighter from local orbit. That’ll do me. I can always take a big pair of night glasses.
Mimas also has the advantage that it looks something like the Death Star, on approach, anyway. So that’s fun.
You’d never have a better chance to say “That’s no moon. It’s a space station.” That’s for sure.
This Celestia thing sounds excellent. I’ll have to give that a look later.