(8) Planets and Counting

images of the planet:

From the outside it looks red-ish, due to the reflection of the sun's light on it's atmosphere, but on the planet the sky looks grey with a tinge of yellow-green, due to the refection of the surface+composition of the atmosphere

In the picture below, the orange-ish red area is all clouds of propane and hydroxide, while the black-ish areas are the black deserts of Lethea 3. We're facing the back of the planet, so only the black deserts are visible. It would be silver on the side facing the sun, since that side is more tropical than the other.

Area it's in- Galaxy Messier 82, lying right outside the edges of M82's starburst zone. M82 is also sometimes known as the Cigar Galaxy.

Species- No animals, only plants

Plants- Lethea 3 is very abundant in trees and other large plant life, but lacks smaller plants, like ferns or grass, though there are lots of vines that cover the ground/trees. The plant life is strictly restricted to the day side of the planet, as the other side doesn't get any light and thus plants wouldn't be able to preform photosynthesis. The bark on the planet's trees is very thin, almost like a sheet, is tinted yellow, and is non-flammable. The leaves are as big as a person, and are grey. They aren't non-flammable like the bark, but they aren't super-flammable like Earth trees, either.

Moons, Rings- N/A

Suns- red dwarf sun called Eri. Lethea 3 orbits so close to it that it's tidally locked (meaning the planet doesn't turn, so one side is always day, and the other side it's night)

Atmosphere- Lethea 3 has a very thick atmosphere, made up primarily of nitrogen, with trace amounts of carbon monoxide, hydroxide, and propane. The air is not breathable by most non-native species, but the presence of hydroxide and carbon monoxide makes it possible for air filters to be used to produce breathable oxygen.

The gas in the atmosphere of the planet is very flammable, so if you were to light a match it'd expand to be about 3x the normal size of a flame. The plant life on the planet has evolved to combat this property, and is largely non-flammable.

Civilization- a very small population of Ivatoisli, though they do not leave the planet and practically ignore any visitors to the planet, which are far and few between. They came to the planet at an early time in its history.

Trade- ex-lumber planet. Lethea 3 was once known for being a great lumber planet; the wood is not very useful, but there is a stringy plant-material in the centers of the trees that make good ropes, and the bark made a very popular paper, known for being extremely flameproof. However, after a while the lumber was getting over-harvested, so the Ivatoisli of the planet chased everyone off. There are still machines used for harvesting lumber and buildings once used by the lumberjacks scattered around the planet, through they are very broken down now, covered in vines, and in some cases, the roots of the trees.

Other- Lethea 3 has a thick, flammable atmosphere, and orbits very close to Eri. This combination of traits results in very beautiful auroras whenever there is a solar flare; they are large, bright, and look like fires in the sky... which is in fact a very accurate description.

Also, it is extremely difficult to impossible to land on the day side of the planet; since the orbit is so close to it's sun, Eri might draw in the ship trying to land. If you want to get to the day side, it'd be smart to land either on the night side or the area between the night and day sides, then use a vehicle or hike to the day side.

(note: credit for the Ivatoisli goes to David Edwards
more info: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
planet pic made with [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] )

images of the planet:

Location Located on the outskirts of the Andromeda Galaxy, in a large orbit around CTA-302, a small blue-white class O star that gives off huge amounts of radiation

Moons a very small asteroid named Triton 52

Life no native life of any kind on the planet, not even microbes

Atmosphere no atmosphere, nor a magnetic field. As a substitute, however, the entire planet is covered in mile-deep ice that can protect the water underneath from absorbing too much radiation.

About/Appearance Mehet Olorun is a water and ice world, though the 'water' and 'ice' are not H2O, but a compound very close to it. However, unlike water, it can hold vast amounts of radiation or energy, and has a lower freezing point.

The top layer of the planet is made of this type of ice; energy is packed closely together in the ice, and helps to prevent too much radiation from reaching down to the second layer of the planet, which is water. Due to the closely packed energy, the ice glows; faintly on the side of the planet that is not currently facing CTA-302, and bright and pulsating on the side that is. Due to the composition of the ice, it doesn't glow white, but instead bright pinks and blues.

The water layer, while holding much less radiation than the ice, is still very packed with it. The water is very cold, too, so no life could have ever developed in it. Like the ice layer, the water faintly glows, though it could be more likened to snow, because the majority of the energy comes down in clumps. Unlike the ice that changes the way it glows with the time of day, the 'snow' is always dim and pulsating.

The sea floor holds the fallen energy clumps, and is always bright and glowing.

Trade Mehet Olorun was discovered by humans in the late 43rd century, and despite the rough conditions on it, people were fascinated with its glowing ice and water. For 20 years, a research base was the only thing set up on Mehet Olorun, but by the twenty-first year, several corporations had heard of the planet and travelled there to set up radiation-proof underwater domes that could house cities.

From that point forward, the planet was a semi-popular resort spot. It is a hassle trying to avoid the radiation from CTA-302 when flying to the planet, and trying to get through the ice is almost impossible, so it is customary to come with a teleportation device, such as a vortex manipulator.

Visitors to the planet will often stay in the comfort of the domes, but the adventurous ones are free to scuba dive in the glowing seas, provided they wear heated, radiation-proof gear. It is also a short swim to the research center, which isn't used for much research anymore; it's more of a tourist attraction than anything.

images of planet:

Location- Rhea is located near the end of the Perseus Arm of the Mutter's Spiral (aka Milky Way). It orbits around a Sol-like star called 21 Eri. It is a tad larger and cooler than the Earth's sun, the latter property resulting in a more orange-ish color than Sol.

Moons/Rings- Rhea has two rings; one is thinner but further out, composed of mainly dust, which results in a grey color. This ring is very hard to see from the surface of the planet, even at night. The closer but slightly thicker one is about 20% turquoise and azure, making it a beautiful blue color. It is very faint during the day, though at night it is much more visible.
Early in the planet's history, two small celestial bodies crashed into its surface, forming moons. Not too long after they were formed, they crashed into each other. The heavier turquoise, azure, and other rocks formed one ring, and the remaining dust from the collision formed the second.

Atmosphere- dry composition is 79% nitrogen, 18.5% oxygen, 1% methane, 1.5% other gases. This is more nitrogen, less oxygen, and more methane than Earth. Rhea also has more water vapor than earth, though this isn't included in the dry atmosphere composition percentages.

Animals- Rhea is a breeding ground of many different types of reptiles and birds. There are few species of mammals on the planet, most being very small, and there are no amphibians despite the large amounts of water covering the planet's surface.

• The main/civilized species of the planet are the Agreel, a reptilian race which can be found here> [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] . The Agreelian race originated on Rhea (it wasn't just a colony or something).
  
• Another common race, which are not intelligent but are still very populous, are Reeks, a small mammal scavenger that looks much like a chipmunk. They are very popular as pets, despite the horrible odor they give off.
  
• At the top of the food chain is a purple, t-rex-like reptile called a sed. They have six eyes and sometimes cause troubles in cities when they wander into them.
  

Plants- Very similar to Earth's Jurassic period. Lots of ferns, lots of large trees, not many flowers

About/Appearance- Rhea is a planet of about 2/3 land and 1/3 water. There are no oceans, only large bodies of fresh water, which help to foster the lush forests on the planet.
For much of the planet's history trees covered the entire planet, but after the Agreel began to build cities, more and more forests disappeared. There was pollution from the few floating cities they were able to construct. Luckily, a campaign that started in the first few years of the Agreelian space age helped the world to become lush and green again.
Rhea is about 5/3 the size of Earth, and the sky is only a little more purple than Earth's sky.

Trade- The major goods export of Rhea is creme made from certain kinds of ferns, used to treat burns or rashes. More than goods, Rhea 'exports' people, who go on to provide services for others, mainly in the medical, scientific, or psychological fields.

images of the planet:

Location- Milky Way, Trifid Nebula, orbiting around a sun-like star called Menganno. There is only one other planet in the Meganno system, Meganno-1, which orbits too close to the star to be anything other than a searing hot, rocky, and lifeless world.

Moons/Rings- none

Atmosphere- Similar to Earth, just less windy, with warmer and heavier (with moisture) air. Since Treth is located in a nebula, at night the skies are filled with the view of colorful glowing gasses instead of stars.

Species- Trethians. They resemble humans in appearance, and their biology is quite similar, too, though their hearts are bigger and beat faster in order to compensate for the humidity in the atmosphere. Their internal temperatures are slightly hotter, as well.

About/Appearance- Treth, for the most part, looks like a very cloudy Earth with less oceans. There are 3 major bodies of land, all roughly the same size and distance from each other. It is not visible from space, but there are long light rail tracks that stretch across the oceans and connect all the continents to each other.
The architecture of the planet is much like Earth architecture, though they tend to incorporate more round elements into their buildings (ex. round windows, round foundations, more roundabouts!)

Trade- Nothing in particular, though the annual independence day celebration draws tourists in from all over the nebula, and in some cases, the galaxy. The Trethians celebrate their independence from the Suncorcans, a race that had seized control of their planet early in their history, by having a planet-wide water war. Some celebrations on the planet last only a day, mostly in rural areas or industrial areas vital to the planet's economy, though in the more populated areas with many tourists, it can (and often does) last up to a week.

Location-

Moons/Rings-

Atmosphere-

Species-

About/Appearance-

Trade-

Location-

Moons/Rings-

Atmosphere-

Species-

About/Appearance-

Trade-

images:

Location- Near the middle of the galaxy, orbiting around a Sol-like star (yellow, main sequence) named Traul.

Moons/Rings- three moons, two roughly the size of the moon and one the size of an asteroid

Atmosphere- Very, very wet. There is never a sunny day on Bolara; either it is raining, foggy, or (occasionally) snowing.

Species- Bolarans are a type of bipedal lizard species. They look similar to Godzilla, just smaller and less bulky. They have spikes running everywhere, from their faces, down their small tails, to their ankles. Despite being lizards, Bolarans thrive on moisture in the air, not heat like Earth lizards. Bolarans cannot survive (or atleast, cannot stay awake) in deserts or other super-dry areas.
Other species on the planet include small mammals (think: squirrels or chipmunks with otter fur), snakes, and lungfish.

About/Appearance- Bolara is crisscrossed by rivers and dotted by swamps. Despite the lack of non-wet ground, a civilization has been able to spring up, appearance and tech reminiscent of early London. The Bolarans love bridges, but do not have boats since none of their rivers are swamps are deep enough for it. They use skiffs, though.

Trade- Bolarans, despite knowing of many other species in the cosmos and trading with some of them, have not developed any intersteller tech. The only Bolarans that leave planet are traders or diplomats; otherwise, this species is content to be an industrial-stage planet, warring and trading and interacting only with their own.

images:

Location- On the very end of the Milky Way's Scutum-Crux Arm, orbiting a dual blue dwarf system containing the stars Valtira-R and Valtira-S. Valtira-R is bigger and pulls a little piece of Valtira-S with it whenever the stars get too close.

Moons/Rings- faint rings made of dust, no moons

Atmosphere- the atmosphere is supposed to be white, but dust storms have since left it cloudy and brown. Assimilate atmospheric composition to the conditions found in the American dustbowl.

Species- Many, many types. None are native except for a few types of viruses that float in the air.

About/Appearance- New New New New New Haven, often called Haven 5, is a religious and political haven for all species. Haven 1-4 are much nicer than Haven 5, but they have since developed their own communities and become less open to immigration. Haven 5, despite remaining open and being much smaller than most planets, is not overpopulated (yet). Probably because the only thing you can find on the planet is dust and the elaborate carpet tents inhabitants live in.

Trade- Haven 5 inhabitants get their food and purely from other planets in exchange for services, primarily teaching, music, or religious preaching

images:

Location- Near galactic center in the Norma arm. The planet orbits a large main-sequence star the Rech call Sag-3 and the Kuri call Asmalp.

Moons/Rings- no moons or rings

Atmosphere- earth-like

Species- One Species on the planet is the Rech, a human-like species with bigger lungs and redder skin. They live among the peaks of the planet, building castles and other stone structures.
The Kuris are the second intelligent species on the planet, though most Rech deny that they are all that intelligent. Kuris look like dragons (although they are mammals and are covered in fur and skin, not scales), and live in the caves and ravines of the planet.
The two species are incredibly hateful of one another, although a few from both sides have tried and failed to instate new social norms. Sometimes, when two large cities are near each other, an energy wall will be built in order to prevent contact or possible wars, both of which happen a lot, anyways.

About/Appearance- Kaurach is a word of peaks and vallies; aside from plateaus, there are few plains, only steep mountains, hills, and ravines. In terms of vegetation and water, Kaurach is very Earthlike, although all water on the planet is saltwater, not fresh.

Trade- Kaurach specializes in the sell of defense and weapon systems. The Rech make high end (usually expensive) laser guns, and are experts at energy shielding. The Kuris are also very good with shields, though when it comes to weapons, they more often than not supply the raw minerals and metals needed to make such things.

images:

Location- La Silla is the 3rd planet orbiting around TRAPPIST-1, an ultra cool red dwarf. TRAPPIST-1 is situated in the area of the Constellation Aquarius.

Moons/Rings- 1 small moon, unnamed

Atmosphere- Contains the same components of Earth's atmosphere, but with more Hydrogen and less Nitrogen. The sky is a bright blue-green.

Species- The predominate species on La Silla are beetles and flying insects. In the oceans there are crustaceans and jellyfish-like aliens. The "jellyfish" are the closest thing to intelligent life the planet has and have an IQ about the same as Earth dolphins.

About/Appearance- La Silla is home to soaring purple mountains, 3 freshwater oceans topped with foam, and one Hydroxide ravine. There are few trees on the planet and the ones there are are more like bushes than trees, but fields of moss and many different species of dandelion-like plants inhabit the surface. From space the planet looks like a patchwork of green, purple, and white.

Trade- There have been a few explorers that sent probes to the planet or stopped by for a few days, but La Silla is blissfully free from higher civilization tourism or trade.