Another unexpected feature of the rogue planet, Satan: although most of its natural radioactivity has gone and the surface temperature is close to absolute zero, the magnetic field indicates that part of the core remains molten. This heat, insulated by mantle, crust and cryosphere, dissipates slowly.
The planet is lit by:
light from Beta Crucis, refracted through the atmosphere;
corona;
auroras;
atoms and ions from sun-split molecules recombining;
lightning reflected by clouds;
volcanoes.
The cyrosphere dissolves;
glaciers become torrents;
torrents boil, becoming stormwinds;
lakes and seas melt;
global pressures shift;
isostatic balance is upset;
released energy melts rocks;
land quakes;
thousands of volcanoes start;
geysers spout;
there are blizzards, hail, rain and mounting tempests.
Anderson compares it to Ragnarok.
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