Ceres - watery core?

[ffutures]

The Wikipedia article on Ceres makes it sound like there's quite a lot of water there. Given that in the Weinbaum universe Jupiter is fairly hot, could I conceivably get away with there being a frigid sea under the ice, kept molten by tidal forces and Jupiter's heat whenever they're close to each other?

In other news, I think that it was a good idea to offer the FF CD-ROM as a download. Sales seem to have picked up a little, though it's too early to tell if this is additional to sales of a physical CD or is taking the place of CD sales. I should know more when I check over the next few weeks.

Comments

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Did you mean Ceres the asteroid, as that's never near Jupiter enough for either tidal or radiative forces to have an effect. You need a Jovian moon.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I wonder how it stays warm enough for there to possibly be a layer of water then?

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Only radioactive nucleide heating is possible, Jupiter wouldn't be an influence, its much too far away for the vast majority of Ceres orbit

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yes, all of the Jovian moons are habitable to some extent in that universe. Radioactives are certainly a possibility as per your other comment.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Well, in our universe it would be ice.

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

I don't know that Jupiter ever comes that close to Ceres, though. A better reason would be if Ceres had a radioactive core. Is Ceres dense enough to have one? OTOH, I don't think Ceres' diameter and thus density was all that well-established in the 1930's, so I think you're free to do whatever you want with the minor planet.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm going to go with a radioactive core. Under several miles of icy water in near-zero gravity, and possibly with some living organisms around, which should be a fun environment for adventurers...

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

"Radioative core" also implies "mineral resources," which would provide good motives for expeditions into Ceres.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Definitely, but the giant eels or whatever and icebergs may be disincentives...