(This cover is appropriate because it shows clouds - I thought.)
When
the rogue planet, Satan, swings around the blue giant star, Beta
Crucis, approaching as close as 0.93 astronomical units, it will heat
up. Sure. However, it is not yet clear whether surface conditions will
become suitable for an industrial base:
"'The amount
and the composition of frozen material could not have been measured
accurately. Nor could its behavior have been computed beforehand in
sufficient detail. The problem is too complex, with too many unknowns.
For example, once a gaseous atmosphere has begun to form, other volatile
substances will tend to recondense at high altitudes, forming clouds
which will in time disappear but which, during their existence, may
reflect so much input radiation that most of the surface remains
comparatively cold.'" (Chapter XI, p. 437) (For full reference, see here.)
The surface might remain cold. How about that, then?
No comments:
Post a Comment