NYND 3308: Day 47
18 Feb 2022Helios Eusebio
February 18, 330802:44:57 UGT
Challenger, Dryao Phylio AA-A h410 ABC 1 E (Bague ornée de Bijoux) (-16.8430, -88.0406)
MET: 46:08:25:47
We've managed to get the drive into working condition again. It's not as good as a proper repair job back at Lunar Hyperlight but Harper thinks it should last us until then. She's usually right about her field repairs so I've no reason to doubt.
With samples taken from our landing site, our next objective was to look at the other two worlds in system with signs of life. The fourth planet orbiting the Brown Dwarf is very similar to the second one: Sulphur Dioxide atmosphere, 8% the mass of Earth, .37 G gravity and a tidally locked orbit. The only difference is a slightly longer orbital period (5.7 Earth days) and a slightly cooler environment, with temperatures ranging from 171 to 334 Kelvin. Even so, the biological signals were the same: more Stratum Cucumisis and Bacterium Cerbrus.
The Bacterium colonies were pretty interesting due to their overall appearance, which bared a striking similarity to the human brain. They appear to be a series of interconnected organisms but as far as we can tell there's nothing overtly different between them and other Bacterium colonies that we've seen. According to Carlton, these Bacterium are only found in atmospheres with a high amount of water or Sulphur Dioxide, so our theory is that the composition of the atmosphere has a role to play in their physical appearance.
Only one biosignal was detected on the 5th planet and it also was determined to be Stratum. However, this planet's environment was different than the other two: its atmosphere was 90% Carbon Dioxide and 10% Sulphur Dioxide. It's also slightly more massive (10% Earth's mass) with a slightly more dense atmosphere, though the temperature range was mostly identical to our previous parking spot. We were curious to see if there would be a different kind of Stratum on the surface, so we set down.
Turned out the answer was yes: our landing site was covered in Stratum Paleas, which we've seen on other worlds on this expedition. So now the question becomes why is there a different type of Stratum here? Once again, the environment on this world is almost identical to the 4th planet's environment, save for the atmospheric composition. But our research so far hasn't shown that atmospheric composition plays a major role in the kind of Stratum that develops. This isn't to say that it isn't a factor, it could very well be, but it doesn't appear to be the main reason for the divergence. It should be noted that the appearance of Paleas is not as hardened as that of Cucumisis, which suggests this Paleas doesn't need that much protection from the environment. But the true reason for the divergence remains a mystery.
Our next stop in system is the third star out: a Class M5VA Red Dwarf with a pair of geologically active planets that Cannon would like us to investigate.
04:29:20
Challenger, Dryao Phylio AA-A h410 ABC 3 B (Bague ornée de Bijoux) (10.4486, 100.4525)
MET: 46:10:10:10
Landing on the two planets orbiting the first Red Dwarf was considerably more challenging. While the planets around the Brown Dwarf were relatively small bodies, these worlds are closer to Super-Earths. Each one is nearly 4 times as massive as Earth and has a surface gravity of 1.67 G. But the real hazard is the temperatures: each world has a surface temperature with highs approaching 1000 Kelvin, far too high for the Artemis suit and nearly pushing the limits of Challenger's thermal conditioning.
The surface environment of the 1st planet was about as hellish of an environment as we've seen so far. The terrain was very rough and Mir 2 got banged up pretty good just trying to drive around. Vents, fumaroles and lava spouts were everywhere, appearing at the bases of large mountains as well as valleys and crevices in between. The Red Dwarf looks positively monstrous in the sky, close enough that it almost appears that the prominences can leap off the photosphere and scorch the planet's surface.
By contrast, the terrain of the 2nd planet was more smooth and even. There were still mountains, sure, but they were more spread out and shorter in height. There were also less geological features as well and they were more spread out as well. Whereas Mir 2 could scan a good number of features in just a couple minutes, it took nearly 3 times as long for Mir 1 to do the same. Temperatures were still far too hot to attempt to explore on foot, despite being somewhat further away from the Red Dwarf.
The disparity between the two worlds is fascinating. They both have nearly identical physical characteristics, but different levels of geological activity. This is present even from orbit: planet 1's surface appears to be covered in Silicate deposits, giving it a somewhat "striped" appearance, while its counterpart has a more uniform brown appearance broken up by some deposits of what we believe to be Sulphur. Once again our running theory for the difference in volcanism is the crust is being heated by the star, resulting in an increase in volcanism and thus more severe disruptions to the crust of planet 1.
We've got one more stop to make: the second Red Dwarf. And by all accounts, this is the star that people come here to see.
06:23:58
Challenger, Dryao Phylio AA-A h410 ABC 5 G (Bague ornée de Bijoux)
MET: 46:12:04:48
On our way out to the Red Dwarf, we made a brief stop at one of the more interesting planets in the system: an honest-to-God Water Giant. Believed to be the result of a large icy body that underwent a runaway greenhouse effect, the Giant has a surface temperature of 381 Kelvin, more than enough to cause whatever ice there was to evaporate. It has a radius of just over 24,198 kilometers, roughly the same size as Neptune. It certainly can match in terms of appearance: the cloud tops are a very vibrant blue (much to Vinyl's delight).
But the Water Giant paled in comparison to the star attraction. The Red Dwarf in the photo here isn't that much different from your average Class M star (this one being a Class M9VI). Except for one notable feature: it has a ring.
While we've seen plenty ringed Brown Dwarf and T Tauri stars and even a couple of ringed Neutron Stars, this is the first time we've come across a ringed star on the main sequence. As Challenger did a ring survey I could barely believe what I was seeing out the window: a Red Dwarf close enough to fuel scoop (and we did!). We even picked up a dozen or so hotspots in the ring! It wasn't entirely unexpected and it's why we do these surveys, but I reiterate, this was a ring around a Red Dwarf!
I decided we simply had to see what it was like in the ring, and the view is honestly indescribable. The ring is incredibly dense, with enough dust to actually blot out the light of the star and forcing us to rely on night vision and external lights just to navigate through. Unfortunately our arrogance got the better of us and we got hit by a rather large rock on Challenger's aft section. Even worse? It's right where the damaged drive is located. A gash was tore in the hull and we even got a good fire going back there, but thankfully it was contained before we lost a drive.
Still, the idea of mining around a Red Dwarf is something I don't think I'll be able to get out of my head for a while. If the distance wasn't so far off, I'd bring Lavender Rest out here. Perhaps someday we'll make a trip in Spaceball Two with Rhea and Moira.
In what might be one of the first instances ever recorded of a Shepherd planet, there's a rocky world orbiting just outside of the ring plane. Making one orbit in just over 19 hours, the surface temperature ranged from 388 to 757 Kelvin and there were obvious signs of volcanic activity. We've never passed up a chance to land on a Shepherd, and we weren't about to start now.
The surface was pockmarked with lava spouts, vents and fumaroles like so many other worlds in this system. Tidal forces and heat may be the culprit but we also must consider asteroids from the ring impacting the surface being a factor as well. Either way, the various spouts and vents do nothing to detract from the view which is, to sound like a broken record, indescribable. I've seen stars and rings in the sky before, but never have I seen a ring around a star in quite this fashion. The Class II Gas Giant just beyond with its own ring system is just the icing on the cake.
So the obvious question here is where did the ring come from? We're usually pretty good at guesstimating the origin of ring systems, but I'll admit this one has us completely dumbfounded. The first guess of course is that the ring is a protoplanetary disc and it certainly does seem to fit the criteria for one (close to the star and very dense). However we haven't detected any signs that this star and its family of planets formed recently enough to where a disc may still be present, so that might not be the answer. We also know that a ring system tends to form when a body passes the Roche limit of a massive object, as tends to happen with Gas Giants. For something similar to happen here, the body must've been very massive. With that said, we've come across some Hot Jupiters that were gradually being blown apart by the stellar wind from their parent stars; could this ring be the remains of such a planet?
Like I said, we simply don't know how the ring got here. All we do know is that we've never seen anything like it before.
Just beyond the Shepherd planet are two binary worlds flirting with the Roche limit themselves. Orbiting each other every 9 and a half hours, these two rocky worlds are intertwined in a delicate tango. I haven't seen planets this close to each other since Gibb's Bridge.
The idea behind Gibb's Bridge was what would happen if you had a close contact binary between two landable worlds. Would you be able to, say, build a bridge between them? I'm not so sure a bridge would work here, but given the close proximity I'd think a good slingshot might do the trick. Of course there are other ways the close distance is noticeable besides one planet looming in the sky of its counterpart: volcanism covers the surface of both worlds as the tidal forces from each planet pull on the other. And all this while orbiting a common center of gravity. It's a beautiful dance.
Farther out lies an Earth-like World. Already rare around Class M stars, the presence of this ELW just adds to the uniqueness of this system. This world is about 2/3rds the size of Earth and half the mass, with an atmosphere half as dense as Earth's at sea level and a surface temperature of 275 Kelvin. The planet is also tidally locked as it makes its 10 Earth day march around the Red Dwarf. Despite this, the atmosphere (a mix of 64% Nitrogen and 36% Oxygen) is ideal for life, particularly water based. No signs of civilization have been detected, which makes us think any life forms down there are primitive at best.
Even so, they've certainly got an amazing home system. 4 Black Holes, a ringed parent star, half a dozen more beside. And given that we're a little over 1,400 light years above the galactic plane, each night on all of these worlds is filled with 400 billion stars.
This is why we come out here. To find systems like these. Sure we may not have been the first to find this one, and we won't be the last to visit. But in a galaxy as vast at the Milky Way, there's no telling how many Jeweled Rings are out there.
I really hate to leave this system, but unfortunately we've got a banged up ship and we're on the clock. Time to head back down and dock with Lunar Hyperlight.
08:00:22
Lunar Hyperlight, Plimbeau ZE-R e4-2732 2 F A (Purple Rings)
MET: 46:13:41:12
So, safe to say Kiana has earned her raise. She managed to pick out about a half dozen Neutron Stars that no one had found before and keep us on the highway both up and down. A trip that would've taken other commanders more than an hour we did in just a few minutes. Very impressed with her navigation.
Either way, great to be back on Lunar Hyperlight, Now it's just a matter of getting Challenger patched up and deciding on a course of action for tomorrow.
Hard to believe it's going to be our last day on this trip, but you know what they say about all good things.