NOTES:
- series name is currently placeholder
- planet sizes in-game are 5x smaller than the displayed values
- TBD marks values or text that will be filled in later
Merak or Mortan e is a habitable exoplanet located in the Mortan System, in the inner-mid area of the SDG-1 galaxy. Merak is notable for its red color, bright rings, and absurd amount of moons. It was first discovered by the Cosmic Entity, and quickly became one of many of its major bases. The planet was later colonized by humanity, creating a global near-utopian society.
Merak in true color, showing the rings and its two of its major moons, Lumina and Saruve
Statistics
Orbital characteristics:
Semi-major axis: ~47516 Mm (0.317 AU, inaccurate due to the way in-game gravity works) (orbital period 362.77 d)
Eccentricity: 0.01285
Inclination: ~2.37°
Mean anomaly: ~329.56°
Longitude of ascending node: 74.21°
Arg of perihelion: 21.32°
Physical characteristics:
Object class: temperate, ringed, rocky, earthlike
Mean radius: ~6650 km (1.044x Earth)
Mean mass: ~0.992x Earth
Surface gravity: 9.22 m/s^2 (0.94 g)
Temperature:
- 258 K equilibrium (-15.15 °C, 4.73 °F)
- 293.55 K @sea level (20.4°C, 68.72°F)
Atmosphere characteristics:
Mean density @sea level: ~1.16 kg/m^3
Mean pressure @sea level: 0.18MPa (1.77 atm)
Approx. end height (where thin atm. layer fades into vacuum): ~113.5 km
Composition:
- 58% nitrogen
- 38% oxygen
- 3% water vapour
- 1% miscellaneous (primarily at high altitudes): noble gases, carbon dioxide, other impurities
Miscellaenous characteristics:
Discovered by: Zenith
Synodic rotation period (length of day): ~14 hours
Habitable: Yes
ESI: 0.96
Number of satellites: 5 major (Rocc, Muri, Saruve, Lumina, Vetiro); 2 major sub-satellites (Manta, Gigantus); 1 sub-sub-satellite (Shamrip); uncountable amount of minor moonlets and ring pieces
Discovery
Merak and thus the whole Mortan System was located by Zenith as one of the first discovered celestial bodies during his 7th Planet Hunt. The whole system was rich in life, featuring several habitable worlds. Merak's notable red color stood out in the vast emptiness of space, so it was the first one that got an in-depth visit from the Cosmic Entity. He enjoyed the appearance and overall feeling so much he set up a 4th major base here, after the ones on Titan, Earth, and TRAPPIST-1e, but before the ones on Kepler-22b and KOI 4878.01.
Mass, radius, temperature, and rings
Merak has a radius and mass similar to that of Earth, those being 1.044x and 0.992x respectively. The equilibrium temperature is very similar, only having a 3 K difference (258 compared to Earth's 255), which on the surface is raised to around 293.5 K due to the atmosphere. Merak has a larger internal composition of water compared to Earth, being more comparable to the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets.
Merak's rings are primarily made up of darker rock, although three red and a single outer yellow section is clearly visible. It is thought that this ring system was created when an approxximately Manta-sized object almost collided with it, reaching the Roche limit but not the surface. This event bears noticable resemblances to the possible Theia impact. It is estimated that this ring system will persist for more than 3 billion years, as it has shown extreme stability compared to most other ring systems. When this time comes, most of the rocks will likely all burn up in the atmosphere as their melting point is rather low.
Habitability
Merak is located cleanly in the large habitable zone of its star, and has an atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen, oxygen, and water.
Native wildlife is rare, with occasional pig, goat, or cow-like creatures sometimes appearing in the grassy plains and mountains. Compared to this, though, the vegetation and is extremely rich, featuring several exotic species of plants, some even similar to ones on Earth. Marine life is between these two, featuring a modest amount of hydrodynamically streamlimed fish to efficiently swim across the oceans as fast as possible while using as little energy as possible.
Game Notes:
- Currently based on an outdated Mortan 1.5 WIP version. Values can and will change over time.
- This celestial body does not exist in real life. Some features are overexxagerated or overfantasized.
yep
@eyov2