Valyr
Valyr and its largest moon, Oshan, as seen from one of Mesbin's finest observatories.
Name: Valyr
Designation: Kaywell A f
Discovery (Kerbin): Discovered by Radial Velocity.
Rediscovery (Mesbin): Naked eye object.
Valyr appears as a small blue dot to the naked eye, but is in fact a huge supermassive terrestrial planet, seven times the mass of Kerbmun. The planet appears to have white clouds and blue oceans, with some smaller permanent features--landmasses and islands. Given the presence of liquid water, it is considered a high-priority secondary colony location. However, its atmosphere is not as well-studied as Kerbmun's, and it is not known whether or not the planet's atmosphere is breathable, or even toxic. Some scientists have suggested that Valyr's atmosphere must be rich in greenhouse gases, or else the water would freeze. Others suggest the water may have a significant amount of ammonia dissolved into it, working as an antifreeze to keep it extremely cold and still liquid. One thing for sure, it's definitely got more readily accessible water than Mesbin.
- Radius = 1,143,300 meters. 1.9055 Kerbin Radii. 0.1795 Earth Radii.
- Mass = 4.18 x 10^23 kg. 7.8994 Kerbin Masses. 0.069991 Earth Masses.
- Surface Gravity = 2.18
- Density = 6.68 * 10 g/cm^3
- Albedo = 0.28
- Rotation Period = 10800 (3.0 Hours)
- Parent Body = Kaywell
- Semi Major Axis = 35,318,231,900 meters. (2.36 KAU)
- Orbital Period = 27,764,810 seconds. (321 Days, 8 hours, 26 minutes, 50 seconds.)
- Eccentricity = 0.08
- Inclination = 0.1°
- Mean Anomaly At Epoch = 180°
- Argument of Periapsis = 154
- Longitude of Ascending Node = 328°
Valyr has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, along with other volatile ices.
Composition:
- Nitrogen 65%
- Hydrogen 30%
- Helium 2%
- Ammonia 1.5%
- Methane 1.5%
- Carbon Dioxide 0.45%
- Water 0.05%
Other:
- Pressure: 6.04 atmospheres.
- Greenhouse Effect: 73°C.
- Temperature ASL: 8.85°C. (282 K, 47.93°F.)
- Atmosphere Limit: 55,000 meters.
Valyr's oceans have a very high pH, due to the presence of several strong bases including Calcium Hydroxide. It is not potable for Kerbals without filtration.
Almost the entirety of Valyr's volume is made up of silicate rock, with an iron core smaller than Earth's Kerbin's. Internal compression due to gravity increases this ~3.5 g/cm^3 compositional density to 6.68 g/cm^3.
The presence of Methane in such high amounts could be explained by planetary formation, but the sheer amount of it compared to the amount in, say, Reander's atmosphere, suggests that it may be unnatural in origin.
(Abstract from Photosynthesis in Hydrogen-Dominated Atmospheres [1])
We explore the possibilities for photosynthesis on a rocky planet with a thin H2-dominated atmosphere. If a rocky, H2-dominated planet harbors life, then that life is likely to convert atmospheric carbon into methane. Outgassing may also build an atmosphere in which methane is the principal carbon species. We describe the possible chemical routes for photosynthesis starting from methane and show that less energy and lower energy photons could drive CH4-based photosynthesis as compared with CO2-based photosynthesis. We find that a by-product biosignature gas is likely to be H2, which is not distinct from the hydrogen already present in the environment. Ammonia is a potential biosignature gas of hydrogenic photosynthesis that is unlikely to be generated abiologically. We suggest that the evolution of methane-based photosynthesis is at least as likely as the evolution of anoxygenic photosynthesis on Earth and may support the evolution of complex life.
It is quite possible that swimming in that ocean are plants which breathe in methane and exhale hydrogen, just as plants on Kerbin and Kerbmun (and Earth) breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. (And animals which do the opposite.)
It bears noting that Valyr is based upon Lyr from Chris Wayan's weird website World Dream Bank/Planetocopia. "Planetocopia is a group of model worlds supporting intelligent life," and Lyr was designed to represent a super-earth-mass habitable planet. I highly recommend giving his worlds a read. But also fair warning, I called it a "weird" website for a reason.
I had adapted the map of Valyr from a manual retracing of the Lyr map that had been projected onto equirectangular. Initially, Valyr was just an uninhabitable version of Lyr, but a few changes have been made since. Its density and radius have been changed to account for internal compression. I also changed its atmosphere to be hydrogen-rich instead of oxygen-rich, both to make it less habitable and to add the concept of hydrogen-breathing life.
The moons are also based on Lyr's. Rik and Fophie initially orbited Valyr, and alongside Plaph and Denna they made up Lyr's unnamed miscellaneous minor moons. There was also Oisin and Manannan which have been represented by Oshan and Manonam. Oisin was explored in great detail by Wayan in another post, and Manannan was simply a Pluto-sized rocky moon.
So now you know the full story of this homage!
(You know, some day it might be nice to have a full Planetocopia Biosphere Variations Planet Pack mod.)