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The_Solar_Oracle t1_j2bzhwh wrote

Reply to comment by mwebster745 in Could we find a Pandora-like planet in real life? by lemonny3663

Pandora is not actually so small that its core would necessarily be solid. Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, is known to have its own magnetic field brought about by a partially molten core, and it's only 2.5% the mass of Earth! By contrast, Pandora is said to be 72% the mass of Earth, which makes it significantly more massive than Mars and slightly less massive than Venus. What really determines whether or not a celestial body's core stays molten on its own probably boils down to a favorable amount of transuranic elements in addition to size. After all, half of Earth's own interior energy can be attributed to the decay of radioisotopes and the occasional natural fission reactor. The presence of tectonic activity might also be important, which could explain some differences between Earth and Venus in regards to their interior activity.

It can also take a very long time for stellar winds to strip away another celestial body's atmosphere, and there are means to replenish any losses like volcanic outgassing.

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ICLazeru t1_j2cpfly wrote

In the case of a moon orbiting a much more massive body, it's also possible that the gravitational tide of the larger body keeps the core molten. This would only work for so long as Pandora had rotational momentum of course, and over time the body would become tidally locked with the same side always facing its larger partner.

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The_Solar_Oracle t1_j2cqtx9 wrote

Pandora is probably tidally locked, but the kind of tidal forces responsible for prolonged geological activity for moons like Io also require special resonance orbits with other satellites. Europa and Ganymede have a 2:1 and 4:1 orbital resonance with Io respectively, and these resonances maintain Io's orbital eccentricity. Without this elegant dance of moons, the same tidal forces that physically distort Io would also circularize its orbit.

Interestingly, though, Pandora is also reliably depicted as being fairly close to Polyphemus (a planet that is itself slightly less massive than Jupiter). While there doesn't appear to be a canon figure available on the internet in regards to its orbital period (and, thus, lengths of its days), there is no doubt in my mind that James Cameron has figures to this end for use by the production team.

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