"Metallic" Planets? What does that mean exactly?

[CMDR Nightjar]

I've not seen (to my knowledge) a 'metallic' planet - plenty of MR and HMC. I've worked with metallic rings ... perhaps the confusion's there?
Space Fan - valid contribution; rep

 

[Space Fan]

I've seen some 100% metal planets with no atmosphere.
When/if we get planetary mining, these planets might be good targets. They're probably not very good for SRV driving, though; temperatures above 1000K are commonplace, even on the planets without atmosphere.
And then you have the planets that make Venus look like a Spring day in Italy by comparison. The most extreme cases of this was a few examples I saw in the beta, with planets that had several thousand atmospheres of gaseous silicates and/or metals. Nasty!
The temperature of these worlds were several thousand kelvins, but I think this has changed since then. It was inaccurate; in reality, a planet with that temperature would radiate away a lot more heat than it absorbed.

It's sci-fi - but if you have a planet at extremely high temperatures, convection can set in (just as it does in a star across certain boundaries) and it's not impossible that the lighter silicates and heavier irons / nickels etc., could be convected, so that heavier elements are near the surface. +1

 

[AluminumAlloy]

Sounds like something i'm certainly going to land on and release my mining buggy when Horizons is playable.

 

[Space Fan]

I've not seen (to my knowledge) a 'metallic' planet - plenty of MR and HMC. I've worked with metallic rings ... perhaps the confusion's there?
Space Fan - valid contribution; rep

Thanks Nightjar - +1.

Folks are clearly interested in this stuff - and input always helps. There have been long discussions about various things - and I have always come away wiser - if not a bit bruised..

 

[Mark Lock]

There are a few types of planets that have metal in them:

High Metal Content - extremely common
Metal Rich - somewhat rare
Metallic - Has anyone actually seen these?

I think everyone here is assuming that FD meant "airless planets with metal in them", but I just wanted to clarify. HMCs are a dime a dozen for any system of mass K or higher. Metal Rich worlds are usually on younger heavier star types (G and above) and are often molten on the surface, and would present several interesting hazards as a result. I think I may have seen a "Metallic" planet once out of the corner of my eye when I was zipping through an A type system on my way to Sag A*. But it could have been my imagination. In any case if "Metallic" planets even exist, they would probably be less common than Earthlikes or Black Holes. So I really really hope FD just meant "planets with metal in them"

Probably it means planets composed mainly of metals

 

[h347h]

I think you guys are over thinking it. Metal rich planets could be what they meant but they said metalic. They have called the Federal Gunship the Federal Assault ship too. The SRV a buhgehey.(buggy would work) I wouldn't put too much effort into it.

 

[Space Fan]

I do, but trying to tell us not to use "metallicity" when in fact we never once have isn't so much adding a wider interest as saying something completely out in left field.

Yes, a solid metal planet would be difficult to achieve. Maybe that's why they're rare, and why they only occur adjacent to large stars (how much exploring have you done? Go take a look)--given that fact, your stellar wind scenario is likely, and extreme heat may also be a factor.

No, I disagree on that one. I feel that it is reasonable to specifically separate out planets with a ... Look, this is a waste of energy. Do you know what I am in real life? What I've been? Of course not, so I'll tell you. I've been a landscaper, a boatyard laborer, a lobster fisherman, a security guard, a construction worker. I've never been inside your ivory tower, and my prestige doesn't come from convincing a thousand sheltered professors that my term for something has some Absolute Maggic Science Perfection to it. I love science and science fiction and space, but I've lived my life using all the stuff science types come up with, not trying to figure out how to talk about it; in my part of the world, you use whatever term people understand, and generally wind up picking your own. As long as you communicate what you want done, that's what matters.

In this game, we mine stuff. We will be mining on these planets, and we need words to tell us which ones are full of stuff like Tantalum, Palladium and Gold and which ones are full of sand and glass that we won't be paid crap for. "Metal Rich" will do that, as would Metallic which--while people are wondering here--is not in fact used to describe planets in the game at the moment.

We don't need to worry about which words are "Absolutely Right" according to scientists.

I fully understand - I really do - but there's no ivory tower here. It's just that I know some players are genuinely interested in the actual science of it - so that's why I contribute. I wouldn't contribute if there wasn't an interest. So I contribute - then I'm told I'm a prof - but I don't mind.

I'm not sticking my oar in - I just can't help getting interested in the wider discussion. +1

 

[Defacto]

Just to clarify based on what I've seen:

Rocky - Planets: Worlds that are almost entirely composed of silicates, think the moon, or a planet consisting only of the material you can find in Earth's crust. Metals are present, but in very low levels (typically lower than Earth surface)
Rocky - Asteroids: These asteroids mostly consist of silicates, but typically also contain impure forms of ''Common'' metals, such as Bauxite (ore of aluminium). Occasionally contains metals in pure form (typically stuff like gold or silver)

HMC - Planets: Planets with high metal concentration at the core, and typcially a lot of surface metal. Think Earth, but if the planet sustains life, then that gets higher priority in planet type designation.

Metal Rich - Asteroids: Contains lots of various ''Rare Earths'', ores of expensive metals such as Gallium and Indium.
Metal Rich - Planets: Planets almost entirely composed of Metal.

Metallic - Asteroids: Asteroids that contain a lot of pure metals, often of expensive types (such as Palladium)

There are no Metallic planets AFAIK - this is probably just confusion.

 

[nexxo]

You want ED to contain an interstellar disco-ball?

Elite is a game of the 80's, baby!

 

[Space Fan]

Just to clarify based on what I've seen:

Rocky - Planets: Worlds that are almost entirely composed of silicates, think the moon, or a planet consisting only of the material you can find in Earth's crust. Metals are present, but in very low levels (typically lower than Earth surface)
Rocky - Asteroids: These asteroids mostly consist of silicates, but typically also contain impure forms of ''Common'' metals, such as Bauxite (ore of aluminium). Occasionally contains metals in pure form (typically stuff like gold or silver)

HMC - Planets: Planets with high metal concentration at the core, and typcially a lot of surface metal. Think Earth, but if the planet sustains life, then that gets higher priority in planet type designation.

Metal Rich - Asteroids: Contains lots of various ''Rare Earths'', ores of expensive metals such as Gallium and Indium.
Metal Rich - Planets: Planets almost entirely composed of Metal.

Metallic - Asteroids: Asteroids that contain a lot of pure metals, often of expensive types (such as Palladium)

There are no Metallic planets AFAIK - this is probably just confusion.

Thanks for clearing that up so clearly.

Some meteorites that fall to Earth are almost pure metal - I own a few small samples. So if they are bumped off asteroids - which is believed to be a main source, there must be metallic asteroids. We need some proper planetary physicists here to clear this up.

But I love the game - but gave up mining, as I can't spend all day chasing stuff round with a scoop Haven't tried these drones yet.

 

[Seon]

Metallic planet, I assume, are cores of gas giants that formed little too close to the sun. It's atmosphere has burned away long time ago, and all that's left is a dense core of solid metal.

It's known as Chtonian planets.

 

[Space Fan]

Heh, just because I'm not all that interested in being told what the "right terms" are doesn't mean I'm not interested in the actual science of it. Science isn't words; science is ideas. Science is pictures; feelings, gestalts, and math, lots and lots of math (though I'm not so great at that part.) Words express the ideas, but the existence of the universe doesn't hinge on us using your words.

Tell me about science, by all means. Use what words you want, and if you don't understand mine, let me know.

If you do, then my words aren't wrong.

Hey - I was just pointing out the usual scientific usage of two terms: metallic, and metallicity. Not a crit of usage on the boards - more a crit of some pretty loose language in the game - that could be tightened up for immersion. But you're right - it's a minor point.

 

[Space Fan]

There's some guy at Caltech who proposed solid metal (dead) stars - but it was all theoretical I think - a small probability it could happen.

Now I'm out of my depth with planets here, but when the Sun goes into the red giant stage in 4 billion years (give or take), it could strip the Earth of its light outer silicate / aluminium rock layers, and expose a metal core. There's nothing objectionable - at least in sci-fi - about that. So, sci-fi wise*, there's no massive issue with a metallic planet.

*(big asterisk there )

Thanks

 

[Seon]

I'm stumped trying to think of a mechanism for a metallic star, other than a neutron star. By my understanding, stars start to generate heavier elements only after the point at which helium fusion would've blown a star like the Sun apart, which means they have to be more massive... and which means that fusion of heavier elements doesn't blow them apart. So they keep fusing heavier and heavier elements until they collapse, at which point their cores become neutron stars, and the shock of the collapse blows the lighter elements off the surface.

I could see neutron stars being metallic. I know they would have fused their electrons with their protons, resulting in a massive change in their elemental composition, but they would surely have more of one or the other. Couldn't a star that was strongly positive-ionized retain a lot of matter that wasn't pure neutrons? What about a star that was strongly negative-ionized? What happens when you force an electron into a neutron? Antimatter?

Neutron stars are made of neutrons--it's their definition. A star would not have more of either proton or electrons. It just doesn't work that way.

I could, however, see white dwarves as being composed of heavy metallic elements. It's still too dense to do anything with though.

 

[Space Fan]

Neutron stars are made of neutrons--it's their definition. A star would not have more of either proton or electrons. It just doesn't work that way.

I could, however, see white dwarves as being composed of heavy metallic elements. It's still too dense to do anything with though.

White dwarves - at least according to the thinking 10 years ago - could be composed of carbon - even diamond as an allotrope. But it's got to be remembered that these nuclear reactions aren't simple - there are always side reactions; slower reactions; lower probability reactions. Even the 'simple' hydrogen fusion in MS stars is complex, and has other reactions taking place.

 

[Ziljan]

Now I'm out of my depth with planets here, but when the Sun goes into the red giant stage in 4 billion years (give or take), it could strip the Earth of its light outer silicate / aluminium rock layers, and expose a metal core. There's nothing objectionable - at least in sci-fi - about that. So, sci-fi wise*, there's no massive issue with a metallic planet.

*(big asterisk there )

Thanks

If you visit enough neutron stars, the planets that you find are these kinds of husks, but I have yet to see a planet with an exposed metallic core. They are mostly just Metal Rich planets that are smoldering remnants. Probably the cores of Gas Giants that had their out layers stripped away given that their mass is usually several times that of earth and their orbital radius typically starts around 3-5 AU.

There are quite a few people in the game who are primarily interested in ED for the scientific accuracy I am actually one of those people having a degree in astrophysics, and this is first time I've been able to use that knowledge reliably in a video game - which is AWESOME. So I definitely understand your eagerness to share your knowledge. And your contribution is appreciated especially for educating anyone who read this thread and didn't already know what Metallicity meant in astrophysical jargon as it relates to the material that comprises stars, nebulae, and interstellar medium, etc.

 

[Quineloe]

A metallic planet, or a metal moon...?

Wait, that's no moon. D:

For some reason, moons can only be rocky or icy, even those that look like they're special.

 

[Defacto]

For some reason, moons can only be rocky or icy, even those that look like they're special.

I've actually found a metal rich moon (Orbiting the fourth star in the Mizar system), so they're certainly possible, but since metal-rich worlds generally form from Gas giants that have had their atmospheres blown away (at least AFAIK), they are very rare.
Moons formed by impact events would also generally be rocky, since they use material from their mother planet's crust, which usually has a lower metal concentration than the entire mother planet in average.

 

[Space Fan]

If you visit enough neutron stars, the planets that you find are these kinds of husks, but I have yet to see a planet with an exposed metallic core. They are mostly just Metal Rich planets that are smoldering remnants. Probably the cores of Gas Giants that had their out layers stripped away given that their mass is usually several times that of earth and their orbital radius typically starts around 3-5 AU.

There are quite a few people in the game who are primarily interested in ED for the scientific accuracy I am actually one of those people having a degree in astrophysics, and this is first time I've been able to use that knowledge reliably in a video game - which is AWESOME. So I definitely understand your eagerness to share your knowledge. And your contribution is appreciated especially for educating anyone who read this thread and didn't already know what Metallicity meant in astrophysical jargon as it relates to the material that comprises stars, nebulae, and interstellar medium, etc.

Trying to accept request - but not registering in my account apols. Mods please delete at leisure. Thanks

 

[Vasious]

I think you guys are over thinking it. Metal rich planets could be what they meant but they said metalic. They have called the Federal Gunship the Federal Assault ship too. The SRV a buhgehey.(buggy would work) I wouldn't put too much effort into it.

Indeed, Metallic is a lot easier to say than Metal Rich or High Metal Content, and covers both if they meant both