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Kyrsatile t1_je8ujy5 wrote

This is kind of both a physics and astronomy set of questions.

In Mass Effect 2, there's a planet called Hagalaz that is described as having a constant lightning storm happening right where the sun is setting where hot and cold air meet. This storm is caused by "the ocean boiling during the day, only to snap freeze 10 minutes after sunset." I understand it’s science fiction, but it’s been driving me crazy.

Here is all of the information about the planet I can find:

Hagalaz has a radius of 6,309 km, a day length of 98.3 Earth Days with an orbital period of 1 Earth year, an atmospheric pressure of 0.83 of Earth, an average surface temperature of 72 °C (day) and −64 °C (night), a surface gravity of 0.69 g, and a mass of 0.67 Earth Masses. It has an orbital distance of 0.95 AU around a star with a stellar mass of 1.01 compared to our sun. It is not specified if Hagalaz’s oceans are salt or fresh water, nor the temperature of the star, though it appears to be roughly half the size of our sun. Hagalaz has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere and is apparently a garden world capable of supporting life.

With all of the necessary information about the composition of the planet aside my questions are - would the storm that is supposedly spanning at least most of the circumference of the planet and constantly chasing the sunset even be possible? Would it be possible for water, any water, to boil at 72C and snap freeze in 10 minutes after sundown in these conditions? Would this planet even have any water left?

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