Diameter 3% greater than Terrestrial;
weight 0.655 standard;
an old system so few heavy elements;
no metallic core;
sima to the center;
solar gravity has prevented satellites;
rotation slowed, then tides reversed it;
sidereal year 9.5 Terrestrial days;
3 weeks dark, 3 light;
mountains have eroded and not been replaced;
most planetary surface shallowly submerged;
solar radiation red and infrared;
steamy heat;
sea level atmosphere equivalent to a Terrestrial mountaintop;
photosynthesis probably based on an enzyme-chain process;
animals less energetic but no less active;
multiple hearts in dissected specimens;
intelligent, tailed bipeds in canoes.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
the word "sima" caught my eye and I looked it up. And was very interested to find out it's a basaltic rock with significant amounts of iron and magnesium. My thought was that the natives of this planet could obtain some iron from sima once a civilization technologically advanced enough to do so had learned how to mine and process sima. It would be one way a metals poor planet could obtain some useful amounts of metal.
Sean
They'd have to be careful -- as Poul pointed out in THE MAN WHO COUNTS, heavy elements would probably be violently poisonous to animals who'd evolved in their absence.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
A very good point, one I should have thought of. I would expect a race on an otherwise metal poor planet mining sima for iron would very soon become aware of such dangers. And take appropriate protective measures.
And I do recall how POISONOUS the ingesting of heavy elements was to the Diomedeans.
Sean
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