{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/3836",
    "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it.  Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.",
    "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'"
  },
  "archive": "urth",
  "thread": {
    "id": 3836,
    "subject": "Spoilers and spoil heaps for \"Castaway\"",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "2003-02-07T20:37:24+00:00",
    "last": "2003-02-07T20:37:24+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<urth-v0302-2900@digest.urth.net>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Nigel Price",
        "address": "nigel.aprice at virgin.net"
      },
      "date": "2003-02-07T20:37:24+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Spoilers and spoil heaps for \"Castaway\"",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "In answer to my question about the shorter *day* on the planet in the story"
        },
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 2,
          "text": "\"Castaway\", Charles Reed wrote:\nSo the answer to the question is that the\nEarth in the story (assuming that it is Earth)\nis spiraling into the sun along with Mercury\nand Venus, therefore speeding up its rotation."
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I didn't follow this explanation at all until I went back and reread the\nstory today while I was still awake and discovered it was the planet's\n*year* that was half an hour shorter. Duh! Through not paying attention, I\nthought that it was the *day* that was shortened, hence my question.\n\nOK, now I've got that bit clear in my head, can I test my understanding of\nCharles' explanation by asking whether the reason why the planet is getting\ncolder rather than hotter, even though it is getting closer to its star, is\nbecause the star is cooling and expanding and therefore, at the risk of\ntautology, not giving out as much heat?\n\nWhen does the increase in temperature produced by the reducing orbital\nradius and the closer proximity to the sun outweigh the decrease in\ntemperature produced by the star's cooling?\n\nNot that it matters - just curious.\n\nNigel"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}