Khan Trav
SOC-12
I borrowed this with permission from the author (Peter Trevor).
YORI
(2110 C360757-D Desert world, Rich, Research station - Beta 713 Im F1V)
PRIMARY: "Liecs" Spectral class F1V. ICN S9C0510F1. Mass 1.6 standard. Stellar diameter 1.6 standard. Luminosity 7.2 standard.
PLANETARY SYSTEM: Six major bodies. Three gas giants. One inhabited gas giant satellite (Yori, 6b). One planetoid belt.
6b YORI: Mean orbital radius of primary 393.8 million kilometers (2.63 AU). Eccentricity 0.010. Period of primary 1232.99 days. Primary is a small gas giant designated "Dectura". Primary diameter 112,200 kilometers. Density 0.72 standard. Mass 358.9 standard. Two satellites and one ring system ... Yori, first moon (6b). Mean orbital radius 2.81 million kilometers. Period 27.45 days ... No satellites ... Diameter 5,630 kilometers. Density 2.22 standard. Mass 0.19 standard. Mean surface gravity 0.98G. Rotational period 29 hours 26 minutes 14 seconds. Axial inclination 65? 55' 58". Eccentricity 0.021. Albedo 0.239 ... Surface atmospheric pressure 1.17 atm; composition - standard oxygen-nitrogen mix. Hydrographic percentage <1%; composition - liquid water. Mean surface temperature 30.5?C.
circa 1104
Introduction
Located in the Spinward Marches just 2 parsecs from Regina is the small desert world of Yori. Yori orbits the gas giant Dectura, which in turn orbits the F1 main sequence star Liecs (pronounced "likes"). This world is the seat of the Baron of Yori (one of the titles of Norris Aella Aledon, the Duke of Regina), and is home to nearly 74 million people (including about 30 million Humans). Yori is predominantly desert but has a great rift valley 10,000 km long with fertile land on its floor.
Geophysical
Today, Yori is a moon of the gas giant Dectura but once it was a planet in its own right. Dectura has an axial tilt of just over 24? to its orbit and the other significant moon (Tino) and the ring system (Skyline) both orbit close to Dectura's plane (as defined by its axis). But Yori's orbit is inclined by another almost 29? making for a combined angle of approximately 53? ... almost a polar orbit (in relation to the system) around the gas giant. This is offset by Yori's axial tilt of 66? (the other way) relative to Dectura, with the final result that Yori's effective tilt is only 13? relative to Liecs (the main star)!
When Dectura is in Yori's sky it has 4.3 times the apparent diameter that Luna has in Earth's sky. Skyline (Dectura's ring system) is double this.
Yori's high density creates a surface gravity more commonly found in worlds twice its size. This, and the high level of volcanic activity, has resulted in an atmospheric pressure at base level of 17% above standard pressure! (Since there are no oceans or proper seas the terms "base level" and "base altitude" are used in preference to the term "sea level".) But Yori is a dying world. It's atmosphere is composed of 12% oxygen ... higher than expected given the lack of oceans but lower than ideal for human habitation (22% oxygen). When based on oxygen levels base altitude on Yori is the equivalent of an altitude of 3.5 km above sea level on Terra. Worse, observations have shown that the oxygen level of the atmosphere is dropping by about 1% (of total composition) every 10,000 years. It is thought that the oxygen levels will eventually stabilise at around 6% (half their current value).
Yori was once dominated by warm shallow seas and had an extensive eco-system, but most of the water is now gone and only a few lifeforms survive on the harsh surface. Much of the water was lost into space (and is still detectable to scientific scanners) but there remains a vast network of underground rivers and lakes. Collectively (and misleadingly) called the "Undersea" this network ranges from just below the surface to dozens of kilometers underground. The deeper parts of the Undersea are superheated and steam is often vented in the many volcanic eruptions this planet experiences. The Undersea was evidently once part of the surface oceans of long ago, fish and other marine creatures inhabit the Undersea in abundance ... now evolved for a life without light. The Undersea eco-system is sustained by a combination of hydrothermal vents and a curious evolutionary adaptation called "Desert Coral".
The general surface geology in many areas is composed of limestone, dolomite, and other carbonaceous strata carved into tortuous mazes and canyons. Analysis shows that at about the time Yori lost its seas the water had become suddenly (in geological timescales) acidic. Often these formations can be buried under the shifting sand dune 'seas' that slowly migrate across the planet's surface. There are also several mountain ranges of silicate bedrock created by the numerous volcanoes.
Despite the lack of water not everywhere on Yori is desert or mountain. In the northern hemisphere (50?N) a single small sea survives! The frequent winds whip the surface up, giving rise to the sea's name of White Wash. White Wash covers an area of 150,000 square kilometers (or about 0.15% of the total world surface).
Scarland is a great rift valley 10000 km long. It extends from White Wash in a south-westerly direction half way around the planet. It reaches 16?S after 6500 km where it forks: one branch running due west for another 3500 km before petering-out; one branch running due south for 1500 km before also petering-out. The valley floor of Scarland is the only genuinely fertile land on the planet. A great river runs the entire length of Scarland, including both branches, and eventually empties itself into White Wash.
Two other features of note are "Salt Top" and "Soft Spot". While the desert regions have numerous salt flats "Salt Top", in the northern hemisphere, is a single unbroken salt flat covering half a million square kilometers. It is thought that Salt Top is where Yori's last major sea 'died', and as such it holds a certain romantic fascination for Yori's inhabitants. Soft Spot is a region of 1.5 million square kilometers near the equator. It is a geological anomaly: the rock here is broken and pulverised to considerable depth, and rich in easily recoverable tin and uranium ores.
The general lack of surface water on Yori has given rise to some unpleasant extremes of temperature. In the open desert during periastron noon day temperatures at the equator reach 60?C ... well above the human limit of habitability. At the same location the temperature drops at night to a comfy 16?C. Meanwhile, the long polar nights within the northern arctic circle can see temperatures slid to a chilly -45?C (during apastron).
YORI
(2110 C360757-D Desert world, Rich, Research station - Beta 713 Im F1V)
PRIMARY: "Liecs" Spectral class F1V. ICN S9C0510F1. Mass 1.6 standard. Stellar diameter 1.6 standard. Luminosity 7.2 standard.
PLANETARY SYSTEM: Six major bodies. Three gas giants. One inhabited gas giant satellite (Yori, 6b). One planetoid belt.
6b YORI: Mean orbital radius of primary 393.8 million kilometers (2.63 AU). Eccentricity 0.010. Period of primary 1232.99 days. Primary is a small gas giant designated "Dectura". Primary diameter 112,200 kilometers. Density 0.72 standard. Mass 358.9 standard. Two satellites and one ring system ... Yori, first moon (6b). Mean orbital radius 2.81 million kilometers. Period 27.45 days ... No satellites ... Diameter 5,630 kilometers. Density 2.22 standard. Mass 0.19 standard. Mean surface gravity 0.98G. Rotational period 29 hours 26 minutes 14 seconds. Axial inclination 65? 55' 58". Eccentricity 0.021. Albedo 0.239 ... Surface atmospheric pressure 1.17 atm; composition - standard oxygen-nitrogen mix. Hydrographic percentage <1%; composition - liquid water. Mean surface temperature 30.5?C.
circa 1104
Introduction
Located in the Spinward Marches just 2 parsecs from Regina is the small desert world of Yori. Yori orbits the gas giant Dectura, which in turn orbits the F1 main sequence star Liecs (pronounced "likes"). This world is the seat of the Baron of Yori (one of the titles of Norris Aella Aledon, the Duke of Regina), and is home to nearly 74 million people (including about 30 million Humans). Yori is predominantly desert but has a great rift valley 10,000 km long with fertile land on its floor.
Geophysical
Today, Yori is a moon of the gas giant Dectura but once it was a planet in its own right. Dectura has an axial tilt of just over 24? to its orbit and the other significant moon (Tino) and the ring system (Skyline) both orbit close to Dectura's plane (as defined by its axis). But Yori's orbit is inclined by another almost 29? making for a combined angle of approximately 53? ... almost a polar orbit (in relation to the system) around the gas giant. This is offset by Yori's axial tilt of 66? (the other way) relative to Dectura, with the final result that Yori's effective tilt is only 13? relative to Liecs (the main star)!
When Dectura is in Yori's sky it has 4.3 times the apparent diameter that Luna has in Earth's sky. Skyline (Dectura's ring system) is double this.
Yori's high density creates a surface gravity more commonly found in worlds twice its size. This, and the high level of volcanic activity, has resulted in an atmospheric pressure at base level of 17% above standard pressure! (Since there are no oceans or proper seas the terms "base level" and "base altitude" are used in preference to the term "sea level".) But Yori is a dying world. It's atmosphere is composed of 12% oxygen ... higher than expected given the lack of oceans but lower than ideal for human habitation (22% oxygen). When based on oxygen levels base altitude on Yori is the equivalent of an altitude of 3.5 km above sea level on Terra. Worse, observations have shown that the oxygen level of the atmosphere is dropping by about 1% (of total composition) every 10,000 years. It is thought that the oxygen levels will eventually stabilise at around 6% (half their current value).
Yori was once dominated by warm shallow seas and had an extensive eco-system, but most of the water is now gone and only a few lifeforms survive on the harsh surface. Much of the water was lost into space (and is still detectable to scientific scanners) but there remains a vast network of underground rivers and lakes. Collectively (and misleadingly) called the "Undersea" this network ranges from just below the surface to dozens of kilometers underground. The deeper parts of the Undersea are superheated and steam is often vented in the many volcanic eruptions this planet experiences. The Undersea was evidently once part of the surface oceans of long ago, fish and other marine creatures inhabit the Undersea in abundance ... now evolved for a life without light. The Undersea eco-system is sustained by a combination of hydrothermal vents and a curious evolutionary adaptation called "Desert Coral".
The general surface geology in many areas is composed of limestone, dolomite, and other carbonaceous strata carved into tortuous mazes and canyons. Analysis shows that at about the time Yori lost its seas the water had become suddenly (in geological timescales) acidic. Often these formations can be buried under the shifting sand dune 'seas' that slowly migrate across the planet's surface. There are also several mountain ranges of silicate bedrock created by the numerous volcanoes.
Despite the lack of water not everywhere on Yori is desert or mountain. In the northern hemisphere (50?N) a single small sea survives! The frequent winds whip the surface up, giving rise to the sea's name of White Wash. White Wash covers an area of 150,000 square kilometers (or about 0.15% of the total world surface).
Scarland is a great rift valley 10000 km long. It extends from White Wash in a south-westerly direction half way around the planet. It reaches 16?S after 6500 km where it forks: one branch running due west for another 3500 km before petering-out; one branch running due south for 1500 km before also petering-out. The valley floor of Scarland is the only genuinely fertile land on the planet. A great river runs the entire length of Scarland, including both branches, and eventually empties itself into White Wash.
Two other features of note are "Salt Top" and "Soft Spot". While the desert regions have numerous salt flats "Salt Top", in the northern hemisphere, is a single unbroken salt flat covering half a million square kilometers. It is thought that Salt Top is where Yori's last major sea 'died', and as such it holds a certain romantic fascination for Yori's inhabitants. Soft Spot is a region of 1.5 million square kilometers near the equator. It is a geological anomaly: the rock here is broken and pulverised to considerable depth, and rich in easily recoverable tin and uranium ores.
The general lack of surface water on Yori has given rise to some unpleasant extremes of temperature. In the open desert during periastron noon day temperatures at the equator reach 60?C ... well above the human limit of habitability. At the same location the temperature drops at night to a comfy 16?C. Meanwhile, the long polar nights within the northern arctic circle can see temperatures slid to a chilly -45?C (during apastron).
