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==Atmosphere== | ==Atmosphere== | ||
Necron Red II lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago, so the solar wind interacts directly with the planet's ionosphere, keeping the atmosphere thinner than it would otherwise be by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. Visiting | Necron Red II lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago, so the solar wind interacts directly with the planet's ionosphere, keeping the atmosphere thinner than it would otherwise be by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. Visiting starships have detected these ionized atmospheric particles trailing off into space behind Necron Red II. The atmosphere of Necron Red II is now relatively thin. Atmospheric pressure on the surface varies from around 30 Pa (0.03 k Pa) on Mount Emaya to over 1155 Pa (1.155 k Pa) in the depths of Kohano Abyss, with a mean surface level pressure of 600 Pa (0.6 k Pa). This is less than 1% of the surface pressure on Earth (101.3 k Pa). Necron Red II's mean surface pressure equals the pressure found 35 km above the Earth's surface. The scale height of the atmosphere, about 3 km, is lower than Earth's (6 km) due to the higher gravity. Necron Red II's gravity is only about 148% of the surface gravity on Earth. | ||
The atmosphere on Necron Red II consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the sky a tawny color when seen from the surface. | The atmosphere on Necron Red II consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface. | ||
Survey Teams have detected methane in the planet's atmosphere with a concentration of about 10 ppb by volume. Since methane is an unstable gas that is broken down by ultraviolet radiation, typically lasting about 340 years in the Necron atmosphere, its presence would indicate a current or recent source of the gas on the planet. Volcanic activity, cometary impacts, and the presence of methanogenic microbial life forms are among possible sources. It was recently pointed out that methane could also be produced by a non-biological process called serpentinization involving | Survey Teams have detected methane in the planet's atmosphere with a concentration of about 10 ppb by volume. Since methane is an unstable gas that is broken down by ultraviolet radiation, typically lasting about 340 years in the Necron atmosphere, its presence would indicate a current or recent source of the gas on the planet. Volcanic activity, cometary impacts, and the presence of methanogenic microbial life forms are among possible sources. It was recently pointed out that methane could also be produced by a non-biological process called serpentinization involving water, carbon dioxide, and the mineral olivine, which is known to be common on Necron Red II. | ||
During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous darkness, chilling the surface and causing 25–30% of the atmosphere to condense out into thick slabs of CO2 ice (dry ice). When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen CO2 sublimes, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 km/h. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor, giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. These storms post a constant threat to the inhabitants of the planet. | During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous darkness, chilling the surface and causing 25–30% of the atmosphere to condense out into thick slabs of CO2 ice (dry ice). When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen CO2 sublimes, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 km/h. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor, giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. These storms post a constant threat to the inhabitants of the planet. | ||
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If Necron Red II had an Earth-like orbit, its seasons would be similar to Earth's because its axial tilt is similar to Earth's. However, the comparatively large eccentricity of the planet's orbit has a significant effect. Necron Red II is near perihelion when it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the north, and near aphelion when it is winter in the southern hemisphere and summer in the north. As a result, the seasons in the southern hemisphere are more extreme and the seasons in the northern are milder than would otherwise be the case. The summer temperatures in the south can be up to 30 °C (54 °F) warmer than the equivalent summer temperatures in the north. | If Necron Red II had an Earth-like orbit, its seasons would be similar to Earth's because its axial tilt is similar to Earth's. However, the comparatively large eccentricity of the planet's orbit has a significant effect. Necron Red II is near perihelion when it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the north, and near aphelion when it is winter in the southern hemisphere and summer in the north. As a result, the seasons in the southern hemisphere are more extreme and the seasons in the northern are milder than would otherwise be the case. The summer temperatures in the south can be up to 30 °C (54 °F) warmer than the equivalent summer temperatures in the north. | ||
Necron Red II also has the largest dust storms on record for any inhabited planet in the | Necron Red II also has the largest dust storms on record for any inhabited planet in the Alpha Quadrant. These can vary from a storm over a small area, to gigantic storms that cover the entire planet. They tend to occur when Necron Red II is closest to the Sun, and have been shown to increase the global temperature. | ||
The polar caps at both poles consist primarily of water ice. However, there is dry ice present on their surfaces. Frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) accumulates as a thin layer about one meter thick on the north cap in the northern winter only, while the south cap has a permanent dry ice cover about eight meters thick. The northern polar cap has a diameter of about 1000 kilometers during the northern Necron Red II summer, and contains about 1.6 million cubic kilometers of ice, which if spread evenly on the cap would be 2 kilometers thick. (This compares to a volume of 2.85 million cubic kilometers for the Greenland ice sheet.) The southern polar cap has a diameter of 350 km and a thickness of 3 km. The total volume of ice in the south polar cap plus the adjacent layered deposits has also been estimated at 1.6 million cubic kilometers. Both polar caps show spiral troughs, which are believed to form as a result of differential solar heating, coupled with the sublimation of ice and condensation of water vapor. Both polar caps shrink and regrow following the temperature fluctuation of the the seasons. | The polar caps at both poles consist primarily of water ice. However, there is dry ice present on their surfaces. Frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) accumulates as a thin layer about one meter thick on the north cap in the northern winter only, while the south cap has a permanent dry ice cover about eight meters thick. The northern polar cap has a diameter of about 1000 kilometers during the northern Necron Red II summer, and contains about 1.6 million cubic kilometers of ice, which if spread evenly on the cap would be 2 kilometers thick. (This compares to a volume of 2.85 million cubic kilometers for the Greenland ice sheet.) The southern polar cap has a diameter of 350 km and a thickness of 3 km. The total volume of ice in the south polar cap plus the adjacent layered deposits has also been estimated at 1.6 million cubic kilometers. Both polar caps show spiral troughs, which are believed to form as a result of differential solar heating, coupled with the sublimation of ice and condensation of water vapor. Both polar caps shrink and regrow following the temperature fluctuation of the the seasons. | ||
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==Natural Satellite== | ==Natural Satellite== | ||
Necron Red II has one fairly small natural | Necron Red II has one fairly small natural moons, Ichaya, which orbits very close to the planet and is thought to be a captured [[Dwarf planet|dwarf planet]] | ||
From the surface of Necron Red II, the motions of Ichaya appear very different from that of our own moon. Ichaya rises in the north, sets in the south, and rises again in just 11 hours. | From the surface of Necron Red II, the motions of Ichaya appear very different from that of our own moon. Ichaya rises in the north, sets in the south, and rises again in just 11 hours. | ||
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Because Ichaya's orbit is below synchronous altitude, the tidal forces from the planet Necron Red II are gradually lowering its orbit. In about 50 million years it will either crash into Necron Red II’s surface or break up into a ring structure around the planet. | Because Ichaya's orbit is below synchronous altitude, the tidal forces from the planet Necron Red II are gradually lowering its orbit. In about 50 million years it will either crash into Necron Red II’s surface or break up into a ring structure around the planet. | ||
It is not well understood how or when Necron Red II came to capture its moon. Ichaya has a very circular orbit, very near the polar equator, which is very unusual in itself for captured objects. Ichaya's unstable orbit would seem to point towards a relatively recent capture. There is no known mechanism for | It is not well understood how or when Necron Red II came to capture its moon. Ichaya has a very circular orbit, very near the polar equator, which is very unusual in itself for captured objects. Ichaya's unstable orbit would seem to point towards a relatively recent capture. There is no known mechanism for an airless Necron Red II to capture a lone stellar object, so it is likely that a third body was involved — however, asteroids or other planetary bodies in the Necron System are rare. | ||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
The current understanding of planetary habitability—the ability of a world to develop and sustain life — favors planets that have liquid water on their surface. This requires that the orbit of a planet lie within a habitable zone. Necron Red II orbits half an astronomical unit beyond this zone and this, along with the planet's thin atmosphere, causes water to | The current understanding of planetary habitability—the ability of a world to develop and sustain life — favors planets that have liquid water on their surface. This requires that the orbit of a planet lie within a habitable zone. Necron Red II orbits half an astronomical unit beyond this zone and this, along with the planet's thin atmosphere, causes water to freeze on its surface. The past flow of liquid water, however, demonstrates the planet's potential for habitability. Recent evidence has suggested that any water on the surface would have been too salty and acidic to support native life. However, we see the tenaciousness of biological life everywhere we look on Necron Red II. Through either biological evolution or through adapting alternate biological processes, the carbon based lifeforms on Necron Red II have thrived despite the harsh conditions that prevail here. | ||
The lack of a magnetosphere and extremely thin atmosphere of Necron Red II are an even greater challenge: the planet has little heat transfer across its surface, poor insulation against radioactive bombardment and the ionizing effects of Necron Red's harsh solar wind. This along with insufficient atmospheric pressure to retain water in a liquid form (water instead sublimates to a gaseous state) places the odds of native life flourishing here astronomical. Necron Red II is also nearly, or perhaps totally, geologically dead; the end of volcanic activity has stopped the recycling of chemicals and minerals between the surface and interior of the planet. | The lack of a magnetosphere and extremely thin atmosphere of Necron Red II are an even greater challenge: the planet has little heat transfer across its surface, poor insulation against radioactive bombardment and the ionizing effects of Necron Red's harsh solar wind. This along with insufficient atmospheric pressure to retain water in a liquid form (water instead sublimates to a gaseous state) places the odds of native life flourishing here astronomical. Necron Red II is also nearly, or perhaps totally, geologically dead; the end of volcanic activity has stopped the recycling of chemicals and minerals between the surface and interior of the planet. | ||
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===History of Sentient Life on Necron Red II=== | ===History of Sentient Life on Necron Red II=== | ||
==Astronomical data== | ==Astronomical data== |