Both day and night are several standard days long and the nights are extremely dark. The galaxy, "God," is sometimes overhead. Tussocky growths correspond to grass. These growths, the broad leaves on trees and the reed-like plants on the mud beach are bronze or yellow.
"Photosynthesis under a red dwarf star can't use chlorophyll." (p. 36)
Plants conceal many mud holes. Vines with sucker mouths grab passersby. The mouths cannot break human skin but a man has to be cut free.
Axial tilt is slight. Wild life is visible and audible. Web-arctoid giants keep away probably because the new-comers smell inedible but a massive horned beast attacks and keeps crawling forward even after it has been downed by two torch guns.
The stranded spacemen have not only packaged supplies but also a food recycling plant whose output tastes like shrimp but can also be flavoured. It is hard work to establish a camp. The food plant uses a small nuclear generator. I cannot remember any of this from previous readings.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Considering how MANY red dwarf stars there are, I think many humans will indeed settle some terrestroid planets of such stars. Altai, in "A Message in Secret," being one such star, I think. Albeit, it was still bright enough that vision on Altai looked normal to human eyes.
And one detail I've forgotten were those alarming vines with sucker mouths grabbing people passing by. A bit like the Venus fly trap!
Sean
The filament of an incandescent light bulb is about the temperature of a relatively cool red dwarf star & so puts out similar proportions of various colors of light. Human vision is quite adaptable to seeing things as normal under different light sources.
Kaor, Jim!
I dunno, I'm rereading WORLD WITHOUT STARS and PA certainly gives a convincing description of how the ancient red dwarf star of the story gives only light humans find uncomfortably dim.
Ad astra! Sean
Anderson was very good but not perfect at getting the science right.
Kaor, Jim!
I agree, but better than most other SF writers.
Ad astra! Sean
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