I always loved the part in 2001 where Jupiter becomes as star.
Has anyone ever suggested placing power generating stations high in the atmosphere of gas giants, and beaming the energy to colonies on the moons?
How much energy would a laser on one of the gas giants need to put out to heat up an entire moon to Earth-like temperatures? Would it be conceivable to generate enough energy in-situ on gas giants that it would make economic sense to send it by laser to other parts of the Solar System?