Location[]
3rd planet of the star Eta Cassiopeiae A, located directly in the middle of the habitable zone.
Discovery[]
First explored by Mulder in October 2170.
Satellites[]
Poseidon had four satellites:
- One moon about half the size of Earth's moon
- One moon about a fifth of the size of Earth's moon
- Two smaller moons, essentially big rocks, in closer orbits to the planet
Characteristics[]
It has no land or ice caps. It is slightly smaller than Earth, with a .87 surface gravity and a 26-hour rotation. The surface is covered entirely by water. The single planetary ocean is 800 kilometers deep. The atmosphere is slightly more oxygen rich than Earth's.
Native Life[]
In the absence of land-based plant life to produce oxygen, the main source of oxygen-producing chlorophyll are kilometers-wide floating mats of sea plants. The mats are composed of multiple plant species living in symbiosis with each other, and the mats support whole ecosystems of animal life. The deep seas fostered large life forms, many of them dangerous. For example, the Kraken used their long tentacles to grab animals off the surface of the algae mats.
Colonization[]
First settled in 2195 by a colony ship shepherded by Monty. It carried settlers from Micronesia, the Maldives, Vanuatu, and St. Lucia. They started by living in temporary settlements on the algae mats. Later, the plan was to build floating cities. Still later, Marcus developed plans to build a suspended city, hanging from an asteroid that would be placed in low orbit by the asteroid-moving techniques that Bill had perfected on Ragnarök.