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GregroxMun

WW_Descriptions

Oct 27th, 2018
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  1. @Kopernicus:FOR[zWhirligigWorld]
  2. {
  3. //MinorPlanets and Comets
  4.  
  5. @Body[Fophie] //1P/Fophie
  6. {
  7. @Properties
  8. {
  9. %description = Nearly 140 Mesbin Years before the formation of the space program, Surface Explorers noticed a peculiar object in the sky. It was hard to see unless you got your eyes really well-adjusted to the dark. It was sort of like a long-haired, fuzzy star, with a trail extending away from the sun. Historians, later recognizing this as a comet, told the astronomers, who searched the skies for the minor body responsible for the spectacular display. They found nothin until nearly 70 years later, when astronomers noticed the comet appear again. This time, able to observe it well while it was bright, Astronomer Fophie Kerman was able to derive an orbit for the object, and predicted its next appearance nearly 70 years later. It now bears her name. 1P is thought to be an icy object which outgases near perikaylion, producing the long gaseous tail.
  10. }
  11. }
  12.  
  13. @Body[Wers] //1 Wers
  14. {
  15. @Properties
  16. {
  17. %description = 1 Wers is the first major asteroid--and dwarf planet--discovered in the Kaywell star system, although due to Vizea's brighter albedo it has been argued that it was actually Vizea that was discovered first. Due to the confusion involved, both bear the minor planet number "1." Wers and Vizea are thought to be protoplanetary remnants from the formation of the Kaywell System, as its position within the Lagrange-4 point of Mesbin indicates very long-term stability.
  18. }
  19. }
  20. @Body[Vizea] //1 Vizea
  21. {
  22. @Properties
  23. {
  24. %description = Vizea is the large minor planet moon of 1 Wers. Vizea's apparent brightness is actually brighter than Wers' because of its higher albedo, so it has been argued that Vizea should have the name Wers because it was the primary visual component of the Wers-Vizea system. Because of the confusion involved, Vizea does not carry a satellite designation, but instead shares the Minor Planet Number "1." The two are considered a double minor planet. Considered a likely candidate for an original Protoplanet, Vizea may help answer the question of how the planets formed.
  25. }
  26. }
  27.  
  28. @Body[Wolda] //2 Wolda
  29. {
  30. @Properties
  31. {
  32. %description = The second minor planet of the Kaywell system to be discovered. Its existence was firmly suspected after a terminally ill solar astronomer Bilburry Kerman detected a faint, tiny transiting object. After calculating a possible trajectory, he realized that there would be no more transits before he was likely to die, and that several decades later it would transit the disk of Shol. Several telescope cameras were burnt out trying to find the asteroid before the transit, and so Bilburry was able to see his asteroid confirmed before he died unrelatedly in the tragedy of the Terrible Bigsity City Depressurization Event.
  33. }
  34. }
  35.  
  36. @Body[Rik] // 3 Rik
  37. {
  38. @Properties
  39. {
  40. %description = Orbiting out of plane and out of shape in the space between the planets, minor planets like 3 Rik can potentially tell us a lot about the formation of the Kaywellian system. Rik is among the larger asteroids in the Egad-Reander belt, and is thought to be icy in composition due to its low reflectivity.
  41. }
  42. }
  43.  
  44.  
  45.  
  46. //Kaywell System
  47. @Body[Sun] //Kaywell
  48. {
  49. @Properties
  50. {
  51. %description = Kaywell, an F7V white main sequence star, is rather bright and large as stars go. Until the development of the first domed surface settlements, the sight of Kaywell was very rare, and it is so bright that many Mesbinite Kerbals prefer not to look at it. Hotter and brighter than the ancestral Sun Kerbol, Kaywell is running out of lifetime on the main sequence.
  52. }
  53. }
  54.  
  55. @Body[Shol]
  56. {
  57. @Properties
  58. {
  59. %description = Shol, the largest and hottest planet in the Kaywellian System, took a very long time to discover since its proximity to Kaywell meant that it was difficult to see unless you really looked carefully at Kaywell--something few Mesbinites are keen on doing. Its large radius and short orbital period make it easy to spot during transits, if you have protective sunglasses at least. If you blot Kaywell out with your thumb, you can usually see Shol as a bright star-like object nearby. Shol is, like Tyepolbynar, a gas giant, which are thought only to form in the outer solar system. Many planetary scientists have devoted significant amounts of time to explaining how Shol and Tyepolbynar moved inwards, or explaining how they could have formed in-situ.
  60. }
  61. }
  62.  
  63. @Body[Tyepolbynar]
  64. {
  65. @Properties
  66. {
  67. %description = Tyepolbynar is a giant planet composed primarily of the gasses Hydrogen and Helium, easily visible to the unaided eye. Its blue and white cloud bands are a marvelous sight through a telescope. Shining so brightly like a pale blue jewel in the sky, Tyepolbynar is one of the most popular destinations in science fiction, even though the planet probably doesn't have an actual surface! Some Kerbals believe Tyepolbynar's name is too long. Those Kerbals are entitled idiots who don't understand ART. [Ed note: The Mesbin Astronomical Society Public Relations Department would like to point out that the author of these descriptions came up with the name Tyepolbynar, popularizing the name in one of the first science fiction stories regarding the planet, and that the M.A.S. does not have an official stance on the validity of the claims that such Kerbals are entitled idiots, nor their ability to understand "art." The M.A.S. also endorses "Typoball" as an official nickname.] Tyepolbynar has been observed to have phases similar to those of Mesbin's moons, proving that it orbits Kaywell and not, as some Round-World-Theorists and Mesbocentrists state, Mesbin.
  68. }
  69. }
  70. @Body[Jifgif]
  71. {
  72. @Properties
  73. {
  74. %description = Jifgif is a minor satellite of Tyepolbynar, and is currently the smallest known satellite of the planet. It orbits very near Tyepolbynar in a circular orbit, implying that it formed alongside Tyepolbynar's large moons, and therefore may be rocky. The planet's name is the subject of vehement debate among the Mesbin Astronomical Society, with some Kerbals insisting the name be pronounced "Jif Gif" and others "Jif Jif." The astronomer who discovered and named Jifgif, unfortunately, passed away during the filming of a silent documentary about peanut butter, and as such could not be reached for comment.
  75. }
  76. }
  77. @Body[Imterril]
  78. {
  79. @Properties
  80. {
  81. %description = Imterril is the inner and larger of Tyepolbynar's major regular moons. It has a distinct bluish tint, leading some astronomers to believe that despite its proximity to the Sun, Imterril is a habitable oceanic world. During transits of Tyepolbynar and its satellites across the face of Kaywell, astronomers have detected water in the planet's extremely large atmosphere, lending credence to the ocean notion.
  82. }
  83. }
  84. @Body[Tannor]
  85. {
  86. @Properties
  87. {
  88. %description = Tannor is the second of Tyepolbynar's two massive regular moons. It is a relatively small, highly reflective world. Calculations of its temperature based upon insolation and reflectivity suggest that the surface could actually be covered in snow! Other astronomers are skeptical, suggesting that it could be a bright silicate sand or large salt deposits.
  89. }
  90. }
  91. @Body[Etrograd]
  92. {
  93. @Properties
  94. {
  95. %description = Etrograd is the outermost of Tyepolbynar's moons. A medium-sized satellite in a retrograde, inclined, eccentric orbit. This orbit is consistent with a fairly recent capture.
  96. }
  97. }
  98. @Body[Aerious]
  99. {
  100. @Properties
  101. {
  102. %description = The minor moon Aerious is one of the strangest satellites in the Kaywellian system. Its orbit around Tyepolbynar is extremely chaotic and does not follow a normal elliptical orbit. Its orbit is very difficult to predict, but it appears unlikely to actually escape Tyepolbynar within the next few hundred years at least. Taking better and more accurate readings of its mass, interactions with the other satellites, and position over time is of utmost importance, for if Aerious escapes Tyepolbynar, it could possibly intersect Mesbin's orbit.
  103. }
  104. }
  105.  
  106. @Body[Kerbin] //Mesbin
  107. {
  108. @Properties
  109. {
  110. %description = Mesbin is a uniquely shaped, massive planet. Its rotation period of 1,701 seconds is the fastest of any object in the solar system, and this allows it to be livable despite its incredible gravity. At the equator, its gravity is 1.29 gees. At the poles, the gravity is 13.24. The strange shape comes from the centrifugal force pushing material outward at the equator--and it is the centrifugal force that reduces equatorial gravity, not just the distance from the core. Mesbin was settled by a crashed colony ship: The U.S.C. Manifest Destiny, which came from another solar system over one thousand years ago. Slowly building up their civilization within underground caverns and lava tubes and introducing a stable subterranean ecosystem was not easy, but as evident by our existence today, they succeeded.
  111. }
  112. }
  113. @Body[Statmun]
  114. {
  115. @Properties
  116. {
  117. %description = Statmun was discovered by early Mesbinite surface explorers. They noticed a particularly tall mountain stretching over the horizon. As they approached its position, they realized that the mountain was detached from the horizon--it was floating! The explorers called it Aetheris Mons, the Sky Mountain. It never moves across the sky, always staying almost perfectly still above a specific spot on Mesbin's surface. The terrain below Aetheris Mons was considered a mystical place for many years until physicists came up with an explanation for its apparent defying of gravity. Aetheris Mons turned out to be a moon of Mesbin, orbiting in a nearly perfect Mesbo-syncronous orbit. It was not actually still, it was orbiting Mesbin's center at the same orbital period that Mesbin itself rotated, which just so happened to be only a few hundred kilometers high.
  118. }
  119. }
  120. @Body[Graymun]
  121. {
  122. @Properties
  123. {
  124. %description = Graymun is the largest object in the sky, due to its relatively large size and proximity to Mesbin's surface. Graymun has a surface apparently quite similar to Mesbin, a gray rocky surface covered in impact craters. Of particular interest are the darker flat regions on Graymun, which seem to be less cratered. Using a large telescope from Mesbin's surface, individual boulders can be observed--and potentially large spacecrafts too!
  125. }
  126. }
  127. @Body[Kerbmun]
  128. {
  129. @Properties
  130. {
  131. %description = description = After the crash of the U.S.C. Manifest Destiny onto Mesbin, and after the immediate threat of existential failure was avoided as emergency colony systems were being booted up, the colonists started looking around at their situation. Their frustration peaked when they discovered just how good it would have been if they could have landed there as planned. It was almost a dead ringer for their homeworld. They aptly named it the Kerbin Moon, or Kerbmun. The exploration and habitation of Kerbmun is a common staple of Science Fiction, and the notion of exploring the potentially life-bearing oceans of the planet gave rise to the subgenre of Gastronomical Fiction, exploring what types of amazing snack delicacies could be made if only Kerbals could find new and interesting species to eat! (Mesbinites are, after all, not nearly as culinarily enriched as our ancestors on Kerbin, given that only a few food items survived the crash of the Manifest Destiny.
  132. }
  133. }
  134. @Body[Derbin]
  135. {
  136. @Properties
  137. {
  138. %description = The largest and furthest satellite of Mesbin, and arguably a planet in its own right, Derbin is practically the opposite of Mesbin. While they are both massive terrestrial planets, the similarities end there. Derbin is tidally locked to Mesbin, and so it rotates very slowly over the course of its orbit. Since it was never over-spun, it never lost its thick atmosphere, and retains a dense, reflective cloud cover. The clouds obscure the surface features of Derbin, making it very difficult to peer through the clouds, but it is not likely that there exists a particularly friendly environment on the other side of the cloud deck--but who knows? For all we know, a vast planetary rainforest awaits any space probe that braves the journey!
  139. }
  140. }
  141. @Body[Derminmus]
  142. {
  143. @Properties
  144. {
  145. %description = Derbin's own satellite (arguably a sub-satellite or "moonmoon"), Derminmus is a small brown dot visible in the sky near Derbin. When viewed through a telescope, green "oceans" are visible on the surface. This has led some gastronomical fiction authors to propose that Derminmus is in fact one massive chocolate-minty treat, and that a manned expedition to this satellite to prove the theory is one of the most important goals of any space program.
  146. }
  147. }
  148.  
  149. @Body[Valyr]
  150. {
  151. @Properties
  152. {
  153. %description = Valyr appears as a small blue dot to the naked eye, but is in fact a huge supermassive terrestrial planet, seven times the mass of Kerbmun. The planet appears to have white clouds and blue oceans, with some smaller permanent features--landmasses and islands. Given the presence of liquid water, it is considered a high-priority secondary colony location. However, its atmosphere is not as well-studied as Kerbmun's, and it is not known whether or not the planet's atmosphere is breathable, or even toxic. Some scientists have suggested that Valyr's atmosphere must be rich in greenhouse gases, or else the water would freeze. Others suggest the water may have a significant amount of ammonia dissolved into it, working as an antifreeze to keep it extremely cold and still liquid. One thing for sure, it's definitely got more readily accessible water than Mesbin.
  154. }
  155. }
  156. @Body[Denna]
  157. {
  158. @Properties
  159. {
  160. %description = Denna is a small inner minor moon of Valyr, discovered by the eccentric astronomer Criswayan Kerman. He is said to have named the small green dot after his young daughter, who was small and green. The fact that Chriswayan Kerman was never known to have had any children, and the fact that Denna is ancient Kerblish for "mucus," is rarely brought up.
  161. }
  162. }
  163. @Body[Plaph]
  164. {
  165. @Properties
  166. {
  167. %description = Plaph is the second minor inner moon of Valyr, discovered alongside Denna by Chriswayan Kerman. In culinary science, Plaph is a special way of cooking a potato, which involves peeling it in a vacuum and then boiling it in high pressure alcohol. Mixing the resulting mush with copious amounts of sugar, freeze-drying it, and shredding it into thin pieces results in a very well known snack treat called a Plaphoglin. For more information, contact the Mesbin Gastronomical Society.
  168. }
  169. }
  170. @Body[Oshan]
  171. {
  172. @Properties
  173. {
  174. %description = Oshan was the first satellite of Valyr to be discovered, and the only one to be discovered non-telescopically. Oshan is bright and reflective, but so close to Valyr that it is usually hard to tell one apart from the other. It was discovered by Chriswayan Kerman, famous fictional world-builder and eccentric amateur astronomer. After conclusively determining that Oshan was in fact a satellite of Valyr, he purchased a large telescope in an attempt to observe the satellite. What he--and many astronomers after him as well--found, was a white world with dark spots of a reddish-brown color. He supposed that these were oceans of some reddish volatile fluid floating on a bright icy moon. Other astronomers proposed that it might be huge continents drifting across a frozen ocean--giving rise to Oshan's name.
  175. }
  176. }
  177. @Body[Manonam]
  178. {
  179. @Properties
  180. {
  181. %description = Manonam is the outermost satellite of Valyr. A small dark rocky object with hints of white caps on the poles, Manonam is supposed to have an atmosphere, or at least have had an atmosphere some time in the recent past. Manonam was named for the mythological son of the sea god Valyr, who was said to be cursed always to speak in palindromes.
  182. }
  183. }
  184. @Body[Didd]
  185. {
  186. @Properties
  187. {
  188. %description = Didd, named for the mythical double-edged sword of the ocean lord Manonam, is an extremely tiny minor subsatellite of the Valyrian satellite Manonam. Very little is known about Didd due to its small size, which is barely ten times broader than an E-class miniature asteroid. It is not visible in most telescopes, and was only made possible due to very-long-exposure photography of Manonam that was taken in order to try to detect evidence of an aurora--the study was inconclusive. The photographs had a razor-thin, faint ring around the moon, indicating the presence of either a subsatellite or a small ring. Subsequent photographs detected shorter arcs around the moon, implying that it was in fact a subsatellite and not a ring.
  189. }
  190. }
  191.  
  192. @Body[Egad]
  193. {
  194. @Properties
  195. {
  196. %description = Egad, a pale reddish dot to the naked eye, was renamed from the original "Adjar" to reflect the surprising discovery of ice caps on the planet's surface, which caused astronomer and certified rich man Billy-bobrik to shout out "Egad!" in exclamation during the first public unveiling of the Billy-Bobrik Observatory. The planet's ice caps are of unknown composition, but appear to occupy the vast majority of the planet's surface, with only a small strip of reddish brown desert near the equator. The edges of Egad appear to have a slight green tint.
  197. }
  198. }
  199. @Body[Yeerbor]
  200. {
  201. @Properties
  202. {
  203. %description = Yeerbor is a fairly large minor moon of Egad, orbiting in a peculiar eccentric orbit. This orbit takes it from just above the roche limit--the altitude at which it would be torn apart into a ring--out to over a dozen times that distance. The light curve period of Yeerbor and the observed rotation period of Egad are aligned, which implies that they are mutually tidally locked. However, Yeerbor's orbital period is 3.5 times longer than that, implying that some very peculiar tidal dynamics are at play here.
  204. }
  205. }
  206.  
  207. @Body[Reander]
  208. {
  209. @Properties
  210. {
  211. %description = Reander is the outermost major planet of Kaywell, and is a giant planet composed of Hydrogen and Helium. Reander seems to be fairly typical of algorithmicaly-modeled solar systems, where gas giants tend to form only in the outer solar system. It is a lovely brown, white, and red banded appearance, with subtle swirls visible to ground-based telescopes.
  212. }
  213. }
  214. @Body[Lito]
  215. {
  216. @Properties
  217. {
  218. %description = Lito is Reander's largest satellite, and the second largest satellite in the Kaywellian System (not counting Rutherford). It is easily seen through telescopes as a disk nearby the disk of Reander, and can be observed to transit Reander. Lito is close enough to Reander that despite its relatively minuscule mass, it tidally locks Reander to itself and causes noticeable wobble in the giant planet. Lito is a pale brown color, which could imply a rocky composition, but it could also be due to dark carbon compounds and space-weathering of the ice. Some astronomers have suggested that Lito and Reander could share the same atmospheric composition due to their proximity, others point out that Lito is not massive enough to hold onto a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere.
  219. }
  220. }
  221. @Body[Yalthe]
  222. {
  223. @Properties
  224. {
  225. %description = Yalthe is the second satellite of Reander, orbiting considerably further out than Lito. It appears to glow brightly in the infrared, suggesting that there could be some tidal heating occurring within the planet, possibly due to the constantly shifting gravitational field produced by Lito.
  226. }
  227. }
  228. @Body[Yokane]
  229. {
  230. @Properties
  231. {
  232. %description = Like Yalthe, Yokane glows in the infrared, though not as brightly. It has a higher albedo as well, suggesting the presence of ice on the surface. Interactions between Reander, Lito, Yalthe, and itself may drive internal heating that could produce some considerable geological activity.
  233. }
  234. }
  235. @Body[Dakkonme]
  236. {
  237. @Properties
  238. {
  239. %description = Dakkonme is the fourth satellite of Reander, and is very reflective, suggesting a lot of new surface ice. Planetary scientists have suggested that Dakkonme could harbour a liquid water ocean even larger in volume than Kerbmun's oceans, though it may be locked under kilometers of ice. Other astronomers maintain that Dakkonme must surely be geologically inactive due to its distance from Reander.
  240. }
  241. }
  242. @Body[Totooa]
  243. {
  244. @Properties
  245. {
  246. %description = Totooa is the second largest satellite of Reander, and appears to have a darker color than Dakkonme, more comparable to Lito. As a result, it is probably geologically dead, and old. Astronomers Mandrake and Rutherford, working from the Jonklin Equatorial Binocular Observatory, noticed the presence of rim brightening on the edges of the satellite, indicating the possible presence of an atmosphere.
  247. }
  248. }
  249. @Body[Mally]
  250. {
  251. @Properties
  252. {
  253. %description = Mally was the last moon of Reander to be discovered. It was discovered when astronomers at the Graggenfort Heights Observatory noticed that they couldn't take a nice picture of Totooa to hang up in their office without a little red speck appearing nearby. After checking the equipment thoroughly, replacing all of the telescope's optics, and getting their eyes all checked, they realized that the speck must in fact be a satellite. The satellite was named Mally, after a fictional character in classic Mesbinite literature who was able to hide in plain sight by shrinking to the size of a small pebble.
  254. }
  255. }
  256. @Body[Yawer]
  257. {
  258. @Properties
  259. {
  260. %description = Yawer is one of the stranger satellites. It was incredibly frustrating for astronomers because at first, they could not consistently observe the satellite, and therefore could not conclusively prove its existence or calculate its orbit. One moment it would be there, then they'd come back after it had set and risen again to find it had disappeared! Having had enough of this mysterious ghost satellite, Durderry Galibash Barlennan the Third Kerman led an international team of astronomers from observatories all across Mesbin to observe Reander and look for Yawer, recording its position over time. This cooperation allowed astronomers to get a consistent observation arc across three Mesbin-Days. The result was that the satellite fades in and out over a time period of about 47 minutes. Getting a consistent observation arc allowed the astronomers to explain what was happening to the satellite, and to get a precise orbit, and Yawer was finally discovered. Being an international cooperation, the paper describing the discovery of Yawer has over 300 authors. Yawer was named for the Driddish word for "Blinker." The Blinking, of course, comes from a 47 minute rotation period--the second fastest in the system after Mesbin!--and a region of very dark terrain on one side. Yawer probably has an oblate shape similar to Mesbin, as it would be large enough to be spherical if it weren't rotating.
  261. }
  262. }
  263.  
  264.  
  265. //Gememma System
  266. @Body[Gememma]
  267. {
  268. @Properties
  269. {
  270. %description = Gememma was long thought to be the distant red giant star Rodocer, a well known star visible from the ancestral Kerbol system. Early Mesbin explorers would use it for longitudinal navigation, and get confused why they kept being led off course every few years after a correction to the star map was made. Annoyed by these constant navigation errors, navigator and early astronomer Gememma Kerman decided to measure the position of the star over time. What she found was startling. The star wasn't just moving very quickly through deep space far away from Kaywell. It was moving at exactly the right angular rate to be in orbit around Kaywell at a distance just above that of Reander. She published her results in the scientific journal "Space And Some Things To Find In It" before being lynched by angry astrologers. The star turned out to be a red dwarf star in orbit of Kaywell after all, making Kaywell a double-star system. The star was renamed Gememma's Star (and Rodocer reidentified as a much more distant, dimmer star) and the gang of ravenous astrologers spent the rest of their lives in prison.
  271. }
  272. }
  273.  
  274. @Body[Ammenon]
  275. {
  276. @Properties
  277. {
  278. %description = Ammenon was, counter-intuitively, the second planet to be discovered around Gememma. Before the invention of the telescope, Gememma was the subject of much study. Astronomer Annie Kerman monitored the light of Gememma with a photometer that was pointed at Gememma and left on a clock drive for several weeks. The data showed that, in addition to regular sunspots, occasional stellar flares, and occultations from Mesbin, the light curve showed something unexpected--little dips in the light for a few moments at a time, with a periodicity of about ten hours. At first she thought it was some strange variability cycle of the star. Much later, astronomer Crimmenon Kerman discovered that the dip in Annie's light curves could be explained by a dwarf planet in a low orbit around Gememma. The planet carries the name Annie and Crimmenon's Planet, but since that's quite the mouthful and didn't have the benefit of a popular science fiction novel canonizing the long name, the official nickname of "Ammenon" stuck. The planet--or dwarf planet--or arguably even moon--is thought to be extremely hot.
  279. }
  280. }
  281.  
  282. @Body[Lowel]
  283. {
  284. @Properties
  285. {
  286. %description = Lowel was the third planet to be discovered around Gememma. It was discovered by telescope by eccentric science communicator and amateur astronomer Lowel Kerman. The planet was at first refuted by the scientific community, as Lowel was no stranger to absurd observational claims, such as the refuted artificial canals on Egad and Oshan, and the planet Kerbiru, which he claimed to have detected on the opposite side of the Sun--impossible for obvious reasons. However, when astronomers decided to actually go and check Gememma for the described planet, it was discovered by Giovan Kerman. Giovan was considered by the astronomical community to be the true discoverer of the planet, and was going to name the planet "Desch." However, Lowel sued Giovan, believing that he deserved discovery credit and naming rights. He lost the case, since he couldn't prove that he had actually observed the object he claimed to observe. Giovan, feeling sorry for Lowel, decided to name the planet after Lowel instead--in recognition of Lowel's contribution to science communication and the inspiration for the search for planets around Gememma. The planet's elliptical orbit is of particular interest, as it roughly aligns with the orbit of the Mandrake/Rutherford Barycenter while being wildly out of plane with the Kaywell system.
  287. }
  288. }
  289. @Body[Ollym]
  290. {
  291. @Properties
  292. {
  293. %description = Discovered by careful observations of Lowel's wobble over time, Ollym is the large planetary companion of Lowel. Very little is known about it, but the existence of Ollym puts an interesting perspective on the planet Lowel, which now must be around half the mass it was previously assumed to be, and possibly under significant tidal stress. One or both objects may be tectonically active and covered in rifts and volcanism due to the proximity of this pair.
  294. }
  295. }
  296.  
  297. @Body[Gannovar]
  298. {
  299. @Properties
  300. {
  301. %description = Gannovar was the last major planet around Gememma to be discovered, despite its size and reflectivity, because lying near the plane of the Kaywell system, it was orbiting where anyone expected to find a planet. It was detected first by observing that Gememma had an unexplained periodic wobble that was very strong for a few hours, and then became weaker for several days afterwards. This turned out to be due to the presence of a major planet in an eccentric orbit. The planet has since been resolved as a bright, reflective planet. Given that it spends much of its time far from Gememma, it could plausibly be ice, however the ice would melt or boil whenever Gannovar passes near periapsis. This could mean that Gannovar has transient surface oceans!
  302. }
  303. }
  304.  
  305. @Body[Mandrake]
  306. {
  307. @Properties
  308. {
  309. %description = Mandrake and Rutherford are visible in the sky as a single dim blue star hanging around near Gememma. For a long time they were simply known as The Rodocer Planet, until they were finally observed extensively by conjoined-twin astronomers Mandrake and Rutherford at the Jonklin Equatorial Binocular Observatory--the only location where the two astronomers could work together practically. They observed that the planet was in fact two giant planets. Mandrake, the larger of the two, is a similar mass to Reander, but is smaller, implying it has a higher concentration of heavier elements within.
  310. }
  311. }
  312. @Body[Rutherford]
  313. {
  314. @Properties
  315. {
  316. %description = Rutherford is one of the smaller giant planets known, with a mass barely greater than Derbin's. Under some definitions, Rutherford is a satellite, but its discoverers Mandrake and Rutherford Kerman maintain that Rutherford is more of a binary planet, as the two objects rotate around a common point in space called the Mandrake/Rutherford Barycenter. Like Mandrake, Rutherford is thought to be composed not just of hydrogen and helium, but heavier volatiles like water and methane. It is not as blue as Mandrake.
  317. }
  318. }
  319. @Body[Lozon]
  320. {
  321. @Properties
  322. {
  323. %description = Lozon is the innermost of the circumbinary satellites of Mandrake and Rutherford. It lies very close to the inner limit of the system. If it were to go much closer, its orbit would become unstable! Lozon, Beagrid, and Tatian are in an 11:9:6 resonance. Every eleven times Lozon completes an orbit, Beagrid completes nine orbits and Tatian completes six orbits. Lozon is the smallest of the four circumbinary satellites, and was discovered alongside Jancy. Lozon was named after the brand of coffee consumed by early Mesbin explorers.
  324. }
  325. }
  326. @Body[Beagrid]
  327. {
  328. @Properties
  329. {
  330. %description = Beagrid is the second of the circumbinry satellites of Mandrake and Rutherford. It, alonside Tatian, were the first satellites of Mandrake and Rutherford to be discovered. Beagrid and Tatian are in a 3:2 resonance, with Beagrid completing three orbits for every two of Tatian. Beagrid is a bright, reflective color, indicating the possibility of geological activity. Quite possible, given that Mandrake and Rutherford would no doubt produce significant tidal forces on the satellites. It was named for the mother of the discoverer, Bickorabne Kerman.
  331. }
  332. }
  333. @Body[Jancy]
  334. {
  335. @Properties
  336. {
  337. %description = Jancy is the third of the circumbinary satellites of Mandrake and Rutherford. It was thought to be much smaller than the other satellites due to it being far dimmer, but a stellar occulation observation performed cooperatively between several observatories and amateur astronomers led to the discovery that Jancy was actually quite a bit larger than Lozon, it merely had a lower albedo. Jancy is not in orbital resonance. Jancy is named for the head of the Mesomesbin Department of Recycling and Reuse, as the telescope it was discovered with was made from recycled metal and glass.
  338. }
  339. }
  340. @Body[Tatian]
  341. {
  342. @Properties
  343. {
  344. %description = Tatian is the largest of the circumbinary satellites of Mandrake and Rutherford. It is in a 2:3 resonance with Beagrid and 9:11 resonance with Lozon. Tatian was named for the Kerbal goddess of vision, Tatiana, who its discoverer Stern Kerman believed was with him the day he and his team detected Tatian.
  345. }
  346. }
  347. }
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