Zelenovaty (Alfa Centauri BbAlfa-2) | |
---|---|
Astrographical | |
Region |
Local Cluster |
Sector |
Human controlled space |
System |
Alfa Centauri |
Suns |
2 |
Orbital position |
2nd moon of BbAlfa |
Distance from Core |
4.5 ly from Earth |
Rotation period |
27h |
Orbital period |
3 Earth's years |
Physical | |
Class |
Garden type |
Diameter |
8,600 km |
Atmosphere |
|
Climate |
|
Gravity |
0.8 G |
Primary terrain |
Mountainous |
Surface water |
12% |
Points of interest |
Chlorine based biosphere |
Native flora |
Lush |
Native fauna |
some arthropods |
Societal | |
Primary language(s) |
Mandarin and English |
Population |
950 |
Major cities |
2 scientific outposts |
Affiliation |
Zelenovaty (Green Pearl in russian) is the 2nd moon out of 23, that rotates around the gas giant BbAlfa.
The moon was first discovered by a european-russian scientific probe, the Yuri Gagarin, in 2127. Although the system had been explored several times, it wasn't until the probe from the european and russian agencies that the gas giant and its moons were studied. The impact of the discovery of life in the system was less profound than it might have been in previous decades; religion has already vanished from many societies, for example.
Zelenovaty is broadly Earth-like but has a fatal flaw: it has a biosphere based on Chlorine instead of Oxigen, hence it has a high amount of chlorine in its atmosphere, which is the reason for the greenish haze that becomes apparent when looking down at the moon, where the celestial body takes its name from. Chlorine has become a vital component in Zelenovaty's plant life biology. Also the life on this moon is based on Borum instead of Carbon
While disadvantages could be overcome, the costs have placed Zelenovaty near the bottom of the lists for colonization and only 2 scientific outpost directly managed by the UN have been placed there; sustained habitation here is extremely difficult, poisonous plant life can overgrow settlements in weeks instead of years.
Although there can be found some fauna (mainly arthropods), it seems that violent and almost-sentient flora with ultra fast growing cycles, rules the moon. Almost all (if not all) plant life in Zelenovaty shows some kind of movement, often accompanied with violent behavior, i.e. carnivore or even cannibal diets, extremely slow "fights" for access to resources (liquid chlorine, light, etc) and some kind of crusade against the human settlements where even more intense plant activity have been detected aiming to occupy the cleared lands around the research stations.