Nhaudis is the third planet from the Baghasta system, and the fifth biggest in size. With an overall appearance that reminiscent of ancient depictions of space in art. It is a very popular tourist spot in Via Aylathiya.
It has 3 dwarf moons, named Uanine, Feida, and Rolka.
It was the homeworld of the Eyes of Gaisha sect before the Crescentia impact event. As of its incorporation to the Confederacy of Borealis, the Gaisha returned as the dominant species, although it became a human colony.
Physical properties[]
It orbits a yellow dwarf star at a semi-major axis distance of 0.45 AU, taking approximately a third of an year to complete an orbit.
Although it's been debated whether Nhaudis is currently geologically active as there are no active volcanos on record for thousands of years, it is known to have a magnetic field as it has very dim auroras on the poles. The last recorded eruption episode ocurred at 193216 CE.
Surface and climate[]
The atmosphere of Nhaudis is mostly comprised of carbon dioxide, and at its surface the pressure is 7 atm . This contributes on temperatures that range from 40 to near boiling 87 degrees Celsius near the equator.
Although from space the oceans are turquoise and the lands colored in a greenish yellow overall, from the surface the iron rich oceans have a more olivine tint; the lands are more iodine rich, sporting a greenish-yellow color. When eroded near the coastlines, a chemical reaction causes the iodine salts to turn purple. This releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, being the main source of the gas.
Oddly enough, the combination of gases makes the atmosphere white colored, although it quickly turns into a reddish orange colored at sunset due to the high amounts of carbon dioxide.
The rotational axis is almost perfectly vertical, meaning there are no seasons. There is also an almost homogeneous climate across the planet, being slightly less humid at the poles.
The 11 continental masses contain three different types of terrain: Highlands caused by continental drift, lowlands, which cover more than 80% of the landmass, and the coastlines. Some continents, like Lirenia and Suverbia, contain additional lands separate from the main continent, adding up to 13 land masses.
Nhaudis is very susceptible to meteor impacts, as evidenced by the recent craters of Quistia (dated circa 4300 CE) and Crescentia.
This seemingly unified geography allowed the Gaisha to evolve and progress into a harmonious sentient species without many conflicts between the internal factions.
Crescentia impact event[]
In 92063 CE it was discovered that a 5.41 km asteroid named Crescentia was found to be orbiting on Nhaudis, presumably captured a decade prior to its discovery. Its highly elliptical orbit caused the asteroid to slow down over time and eventually collide south of Couvea in 93181 CE.
Although it didn't trigger a global extinction effect, it covered most of the world under a thin cloud of dust for 30 Nhaudii days. With the biosphere heavily undermined, the Gaisha fled from the planet in search for a new home. The impact eventually created the Crescentia creater.
Biosphere[]
Nhaudis is home to many species of multicellular organisms on both oceans and land, mostly comprised of crustacean-like creatures. Most of the land lifeforms don't extend beyond the coasts due to the extreme temperatures, and plant-like lifeforms are only present in the oceans, as the iodine rich terrain renders sterile soil. These algae are actually colonies of methanotrophic bacteria, and lie deep in the oceans.
The religious sect of Eyes of the Gaisha established this planet as the capital of its interstellar empire 10 million years prior to the appeareance of humans. However, they migrated to other colonies after the Crescentia impact event. They returned a few decades after joining the Federation.
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