Sibylla is a humanly colonized planet:
33.25 light years from Sol;
50% more diameter than Earth;
a third more gravity;
pressure gradient steeper;
lowlands too hot;
highlands lacking air;
metal-poor;
low density;
slow rotation;
strong winds;
very low magnetic field;
strong radiation background.
These are not just facts. They are adding up to something. And we have not been told who the alien enemy is yet.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrr. even Rustum is not that MARGINAL a world for humans to settle on! And Imhotep it downright paradisical by comparison.
Sean
I don't have access to the text right now to see if Anderson specified which star was Sibylla's sun, but if not, these could be:
Star Spectral Type App.Mag.Abs. Mag.Right Ascension Declination Distance (ly)
HR 511 K0V 5.63 5.64 01h 47m 44.83s +63° 51′ 09.0″ 32.8
HR 5256 K3V 6.49 6.47 13h 57m 32.06s +61° 29′ 34.3″ 33.0
Gliese 453 K4V 6.99 6.95 11h 57m 57.63s −27° 42′ 25.4″ 33.2
Keith,
Thank you very much for this information.
Anderson specifies: HR 6806, a K2 dwarf of luminosity 0.62 Sol.
Paul.
Poul did very well, working before there was proof that most stars have planets, and also that our solar system is not at all typical.
Dear Messieurs Halperin and Stirling,
Mr. Halperin: I think I knew of at least Gliese 453 from reading about recently discovered planets at the CENTAURI DREAMS website.
Mr. Stirling: I agree! And Poul Anderson said Hal Clement was a major inspiration on how to "build worlds" with scientific realism.
And one of the things that makes our Solar System untypical is how Earth has a far bigger Moon than it should have! With all the consequences having such a Moon implies.
Sean
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