Siralus
The 2nd self-sustaining colony founded by the Cooperative, the moon of Siralus orbits the gas giant Guardian, the 5th planet in the Novus System. A beneficiary of long term terraforming, Siralus now hosts a human population of over 10 billion, and is the second most populous planet in the Cooperative.
Geography
A terrestrial moon three quarters the size of Novus, Siralus was a premium target for terraforming and settlement. Originally a cold, dry world with small inland seas, water and atmospheric gasses have since been imported en masse from Corath. While still less hospitable than its founding planets, Siralus today is a world bountiful with Novus based stock.
At a comfortable 0.8g and with temperatures averaging 9 degrees centigrade, Siralus is widely considered the most valuable world in the Cooperarive, behind Novus.
Ecosystem
Before human intervention, Siralus was not entirely devoid of life. While the land remained barren, single celled organisms had evolved in one of its inland seas. Xenobiologists speculate that these anaerobic cells may have existed for billions of years. Given enough time, they may have given rise to complex multicellular life, though their journey would be confined to a single body of water. Unfortunately these simple organisms were utterly incompatible with the advanced, oxygen breathing life of Novus. During a controversial survey mission in the early days of interplanetary travel, Novus based microbes were accidentally brought to Siralus. The oxygen producing microbes quickly wrought havoc on the native organisms, which were snuffed out before any further studies could be done.
Climate
Averaging 9 degrees centigrade, Siralus is a cold yet hospitable world. temperatures can vary greatly however, due to the lack of large stabilizing bodies of water. Regions closer to the inland seas tend to have temperate and wetter climates, while the dry deserts further inland alternate between scorching hot and frigidly cold. As the seas expand with water imports from Corath, more of Siralus is slowly warming. These imports, along with GHG synthesis plants, are gradually terraforming the cold world into a second Novus.
Fauna & Flora
With the extinction of Siralus' native life, the barren world has opened itself to humanity and Novus based flora and fauna. As cyanobacteria oxygenize the atmosphere, larger and more complex animals have been transplanted from Novus stock. New ecological niches have been formed over time, and even the most remote regions are now home to a plethora of wildlife. With a host of fauna genetically engineered to thrive on this new world, Siralus is soon to become a sustainable garden world.
Natural Resources
Early exploration probes to Siralus discovered the moon to be rich in natural resources and rare metals. This has only served to expedite the colonization proccess, with expeditions to less resourse rich celestial bodies being redirected to Siralus.
History
Not as apparent in Novus' night sky as Corath or its host planet Guardian, Siralus went unnoticed for much of human history. Only with the advent of telescopes and advanced astronomy was the hidden gem of a moon revealed. The eventual discovery that Siralus hosted native life shocked the pre-directorate scientific community. Many came to the conclusion that if life can take hold on three separate worlds in a single star system, it must be abundant elsewhere in the universe. Xenostudies and its related fields blossomed, and regulating bodies soon took form to catalogue new discoveries.
Type
Planet
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Owning Organization
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