Are the thermometers giving true numbers?

[Skylid]

Hello!

Recently I flew a 2 1/2 hour mission to the poles to get some temp readings for a contract. I was running low on fuel, so I decided to just put it down on the flat poles, ( and TBH, i was not in any type of mood to fly this rust bucket back for another 2 1/2 hours). I was curios as to what the the local temp was, and lo and behold, a scorching 456 degrees ferenheight! I though it might have been just some heat build up from my descent, but the fastest speed i ever hit was just over 105 m/s, not even close to fast enough to build up so much heat. I also double checked with 2 other pairs of thermometers, all giving me this same number.

Is this just a bug? or is there some other explanation for this high temp?

-Sky

Edited June 27, 2015 by Skylid

[DeMatt]

Four points:

1. The thermometer measures in degrees Kelvin, so a reading of 456 = 183 degrees Celsius or 361 degrees Fahrenheit;
   
2. The thermometer measures its own temperature, which is not necessarily the same as that of its surroundings;
   
3. The "surroundings" include the body of the aircraft, thus including heat production both from air friction and from engines;
   
4. SR-71 Blackbirds, for example, had canopy temperatures approaching 300 degrees Celsius when landing after a mission.

So such "high" temperatures are not entirely out of the realms of sanity.

[Claw]

Yes, all of what DeMatt says definitely holds true.

Additionally the game should give you reasonable readings (in Kelvin) at the poles. However, it's also possible that the game is still generating numbers that are a bit off from what you would expect in "reality" since it's all coming from a series of formulas.

Cheers,

~Claw

[aleis]

Well aside from the fact it doesn't take account for the temperature in space or on a planet with no atmosphere being heavily influenced on sun light.

Temps. In space in the shadow of the planet is far colder than the sunny side

[SAI Peregrinus]

Nor does it take into account the fact that Kerbin has no axial tilt, so weather patterns would be nothing like those on Earth (no seasons).