Rogue Planet (ENT)

[Crowley]

http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/e118.php

Regarding what kind of ecosystem a rogue planet as described in the episode (specifically described by T'Pol and not what is actually shown), there is something on Earth that I think provides a good starting point: There exist nearly self-contained ecosystems around deep-sea geothermal vents where instead of photosynthesis we have chemosynthesis from volcanic sulfur compounds. And yes, that is very toxic for the vast majority of all lifeforms on our planet.

[PerrySimm]

Like many ambitious Enterprise episodes, it yokes an astronomy concept together with naval tradition and/or old sailor myths.

I didn't find it totally unwatchable, just hamfisted and slow.

[Durandal_1707]

A rogue planet with no energy input from a star, though, would run out of the energy to power those geothermal vents really fast, wouldn't it?

[ScreamingDoom]

A rogue planet with no energy input from a star, though, would run out of the energy to power those geothermal vents really fast, wouldn't it?

Eh? Why is that? Vulcanism is mostly powered by two things (that we know of): heavy radiological elements sinking to a planet's core and then emitting heat as a by-product of radioactive decay, and left over heat from the formation of the planet. There's some heat caused by agitation from tidal forces along the host star, but for a planet like Earth, that is is very tiny comparatively speaking. The only suns needed for that are supernovae that had gone kablooey eons ago to forge the original heavy elements.

The Earth's core has been operating for billions of years.

[Admiral X]

It just came off as a preachy anti-hunting aesop to me.

[Durandal_1707]

A rogue planet with no energy input from a star, though, would run out of the energy to power those geothermal vents really fast, wouldn't it?

Eh? Why is that? Vulcanism is mostly powered by two things (that we know of): heavy radiological elements sinking to a planet's core and then emitting heat as a by-product of radioactive decay, and left over heat from the formation of the planet. There's some heat caused by agitation from tidal forces along the host star, but for a planet like Earth, that is is very tiny comparatively speaking. The only suns needed for that are supernovae that had gone kablooey eons ago to forge the original heavy elements.

The Earth's core has been operating for billions of years.

After looking it up: I stand corrected.