Enceladus

Enceladus, Saturn II
INFORMATION
Quadrant:	Alpha
Star System:	Sol
Affiliations:	United Federation of Planets, Outer Worlds Commonwealth, Bright Thinktank
Natives:	Enceladese, Brights (Human)
ASTROMETRIC DATA
Star Type(s):	G:V (yellow main-sequence star)
Estimated Age:	4.6 Billion Years
Number of Planets:	9
Orbital Period (Days):	1,682 standard days
Classification:	Class F (methanated ice with a silicate-carbon volatile core)
Number of Satellites:	none; Enceladus is the second moon of Saturn
PLANETOLOGICAL DATA
Atmosphere Type:	none; trace ionized hydrocarbons and water
Atmosphere Pressure:	none; base ocean pressures are similar to 50 times Earth's sea level. Earth Seal Level PSI is 14.6. Enceladus' ocean pressure begins at 735 PSI.
Mean Temperature:	cold but with superheated pockets approaching boiling
Hydrosphere:	ice with pockets of methanated water interior
Dominant Terrain:	ice, methanated, often slushy water pockets, craters, hydrothermal vent striations, young ice plains
Gravity:	0.11g (Earth=1)
Day/Night Cycle (Hours):	artificial: follows a 24-hour standard Federation day
LIFE DATA
Stage of Life Evolution:	primordial multicellular life similar to abyssal plains worms, arctic corals and sea vent arthropods
Sentient Population:	32,000; approximately 8,000 live in Eilat Hub with the rest in Eilat Anchorage.
Capital:	Eilat Hub Station
END OF BRIEFING
Template:Planet

At a Glance

Terrain

Settlements

Eilat Hub

The Eilat Drop

Eilat Anchorage

Native Life

Life arose on Enceladus, by most estimates, some two billion years ago. However, because of the small size of Enceladus and the seasonal changes of its interior oceans, that life has remained small-sized, homogeneous but surprisingly complex. Enceladus has no known vertebrates- evolutionarily there is zero need. Enceladus has barely a tenth of Earth's gravity and no landmass. Most multicellular life on Enceladus is worm-like, coral-like, or arthropod-like. The largest single species is a nine-armed analog of a seastar only slightly larger than a human hand, though "Ice Brain" coral can form colonies that are far larger. All life on Enceladus is anaerobic- it does not use oxygen. Most life uses ethane or methane.

Methane Fixing

Haptic and Olfactory Senses

Examples of Enceladan Life

Xenocopepoda and Xenamphipoda

Cryogliochaetes

Ogliochaetes have an Enceladan analog similar to terrestrial earthworms. These are marine roundworms.

Xeno-Monochaetes

Monochaetes are segmented worms with single "chaeta" or "bristles" appendage on each segment. Polychaetes have multiple chaeta per segment.

Archaeocampa Enceladis

This form of xeno-monochaete worm, similar to glow worms found inside caverns, borrows into the ice and builds up a thick, viscous, bacteria-ridden goop that dangles into the Enceladan ocean. The bacteria use methane to fix heat and energy for the worm in return for more nutrient goo. Like many such creatures, it emits blue bioluminescent light in order to snare prey for itself. These bathyscaphic worms tend to grow in large "carpet colonies" on the underside of ice. They have the unfortunate nickname of, "Snotcicles," to Enceladan colonists.

Xeno-Polychaetes

Kasydopteris Spindis

Archaeoprimnoa Eilatis

A form of mound-building coral, sometimes called "Ice Brains." Like many creatures on Enceladus, Ice Brains are dependent on methane fixing for energy and heat and do so with anaerobic bacteria. Ice Brains are unusual in that they are not fixed- they freely float in Enceladus' ocean. They can grow as large as 10 meters across and do serve a similar function of safe harbor for polychaetes and larger arthropoda.

Ankyllonudibrancha

Also known as "articulated" or "armored" flatworms.

Nonasteridae Mobilis

An unusual analog to the terrestrial seastar, Nonasteridae Mobilis is a nine-armed echinoderm-like creature that can anchor to ice but also latch on to Ice Brains to feed. They can emit jelly-like tendrils and push water through valves, allowing them to move very quickly.

The Myth of the "Ice Whale"

Rooted in Some Fact?