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Polaris is a planet size moon with diverse biomes capable of sustaining life.

Despite being located at the outer edge of the star's habitable zone, its rich atmosphere in greenhouse gases and it's close proximity to the parent gas giant compensate by trapping both the limited stellar energy and heat generated through internal tidal forces. This heat is then circulated by the planet's thick, dynamic atmosphere. The greenish-blue sky color is given by the trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere (PPM and PPT concentrations of CH4, NH3, SO2, H2S) from volcanoes and other natural occuring activities.

Positioned at a distance of 5 planetary radii, the moon's own magnetic field and it's dense atmosphere provide adequate protection from solar wind and the planet's outer radiation belt.

Surface gravity: 0.7 G.
Atmospheric average temperature: 280.35 K (7.2 deg C).
Atmospheric pressure: 0.86 Atm.
Atmospheric composition:
- 76.2% N
- 19% O2
- 2% H2O
- 1.5% CO2
- 1% Other noble and trace gases

GENERAL INFO

  • Created On: Windows
  • Game Version: 1.3.204.1

CHARACTERISTICS

  • Radius: 4,290 km
  • Sea Level: 0 m
  • Surface Gravity: 6.9 m/s
  • Rotational Period: 1d 4h 50m 54s
  • Escape Velocity: 7.69 km/s
  • Mass: 1.9E+24kg

Atmosphere

  • Height: 96 km
  • Scale Height: 10 km
  • Surface Air Density: 1.072 kg/m3
  • Surface Temperature: 280 K

EQUIRECTANGULAR MAP


8 Comments

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    @Neveon I did some tests in Universe Sandbox 2 and they seem to agree with your statement. An Earth-like planet with the size and gravity of Polaris orbiting at 4.5 Jupiter radii around Saturn doesn't impact its rings much at all, though it would still most likely shorten the lifetime of the ring system by a few million years. Surprisingly at that distance the tidal heating would also be similar to what Io feels orbiting Jupiter, so if Polaris has an orbital resonance with other nearby moons which helps maintain its orbital eccentricity, something similar to the 1-2-4 resonance of Jupiter's moons, then Polaris could have sufficient tidal heating to maintain its magnetic field. This moon seems pretty feasible.

    20 days ago
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    1,200 Neveon

    @deepfriedfrenchtoast Hello,
    I made some research. Saturn’s rings A, B, and C together span from about 1.24 to 2.27 planetary radii. I will place Polaris at 5 planetary radii. Apparently as long as the moon's orbit is not in a different inclination or eccentricity compared to the rings, it would be possible (even at Polaris's size compared to it's parent) to have no disturbance on the rings.

    +1 20 days ago
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    @Tallisar Im not exactly sure on the magnetic field of the moon. If it's parent gas giant is closer in mass to saturn than jupiter and due to tidal effects the moon has an active inner core producing a magnetic field then I wouldn't be surprised if the moon could be shielded from the van allen belts' radiation, especially since the moon has a dense atmosphere. The rings would definitely be dispersed quickly if an earth-like object orbited near them, and if the gas giant isnt particlularly massive. The rings would only last maximum a few million years compared with the ~40-100 million that saturn's rings are predicted to last.

    +1 25 days ago
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    16.6k Tallisar

    Makes some sense, however, Ganymede is have the size of Polaris, it orbits farther out compared to Polaris, and its parent planet in this case is Jupiter, which may or may not be different from Polaris' parent planet. Now, about the rings, where does it lie, exactly (i.e. inner, outer)? Morever, since it is roughly 70% of Earth's size, it Polaris residing in the rings of its parent planet makes it highly unlikely or implausible, as it'd either accumulate the ring material or something else. Must I repeat, this is constructive criticism and I may be wrong, so fact check me @Neveon. @Deepfriedfrenchtoast could help you with this.

    26 days ago
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    1,200 Neveon

    @Tallisar
    Hello, thank you for the post and well pointed.

    Indeed I forgot to mention this moon is tiddly locked (as the fate of every moon).

    Of what I found, the radiation safe zone in the orbit of a giant is between 5 and 20 planetary radii (this provides some protection). Considering it may not be enough, I took Ganymede's example (a moon with it's own magnetic field) for extra protection. Since it's still within the inner planets zone, I considered it would still have sufficient iron for a small dynamo effect.

    I choose 5 radii so that it would be close to the parent and thus still look cool, especially within the rings and get some internal heating from tiddle forces.

    26 days ago
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    16.6k Tallisar

    One other thing that you forgot to mention is that it would be tidally-locked to the parent planet. This may also be a fact in the magnetic field. Acknowledging the size and gravity of the moon, its mass would be around 0.317 Earth Masses, or roughly 30%. This may potentially affect the magnetic field of the moon, however, since there is insufficient information about it such as temperature, composition, and/or rotation and historical events (optional) it'd be difficult to determine if the field is strong enough. Moreover, there isn't a lot of information regarding the parent planet to further determine the magnetic field, and the general influence on eachother. Now, this is just constructive criticism, and I may be wrong in a few aspects. I suggest you fact check me before taking my feedback literally.

    26 days ago
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    5,797 Aludra877

    oh me....this...is perfect. down to every last detail, thanks for giving us such dope planets man!

    27 days ago
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    1,200 Neveon

    Final version. Beyond this point any modifications will be made with version number increments.

    28 days ago

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