Isonzo IV

Isonzo IV, Isonzo IVc
INFORMATION
Quadrant:	Alpha
Star System:	BD+18 1563 Isonzo
Affiliations:	Independent; Uninhabited
Natives:	Yxtoxi (Extinct)
ASTROMETRIC DATA
Star Type(s):	A:V
Estimated Age:	3.6 Billion Standard Years
Number of Planets:	4
Classification:	Class J (Class P moon)
Number of Satellites:	7
PLANETOLOGICAL DATA
Atmosphere Type:	Toxic; Carbon Dioxide, Ammonia, Water Vapor. The moon of Isonzo IV is Class P (breathable- barely: equivalent to 6,000 meters above sea level)
Atmosphere Pressure:	Ultradense Moon: Thin
Mean Temperature:	Average Moon: Cold (-25 degrees Celsius or -13 degrees Fahrenheit)
Hydrosphere:	Saturated as Vapor Moon: Dry (as snow)
Dominant Terrain:	Gas Giant Moon: Glaciers, frozen lakebeds
Gravity:	5.5g (Earth=1) Moon: 0.49g (Earth=1)
Day/Night Cycle (Hours):	76 standard hours
LIFE DATA
Stage of Life Evolution:	None. Simple, homogeneous multicellular life is located on Isonzo IVc, the third moon
Sentient Population:	None
Capital:	None
END OF BRIEFING
Template:Planet

At a Glance

The Isonzo Star System, known in the Federation database as BD+18 1563 Isonzo, was named by Dr. Giulietti Isonzo, a 22nd Century astronomer aboard the Starship Daedalus who first scanned the system. She named it after her home region and her grandfather, who was a miner that died in the Isonzo mountains. BD+18 1563 Isonzo is over thirty light-years from the coreward-trailing frontier of the Federation. The nearest Federation worlds are Izar (31 light-years) and Denobula Triax (33 light-years).

Terrain

Dominating the skies of the Isonzo IVc moon is its gas giant parent- perhaps the only object that looks at all warm. Through a thin, crispy atmosphere, the full view of the Milky Way is easily seen- Isonzo IVc does not seem to have anything beyond cursory cirrus clouds. The moon is rolling and roiling in terrain, with very little flat surfaces- it makes one sweat even landing something as small as a shuttle. It is clear the gravitational effects of the nearby gas giant warped and morphed the ice.

Here and there, evidence that once- probably thousands of years ago- the moon may have been quite a bit warmer, and that the Ice Age event that has turned it into a snowball was quite sudden. Desiccated vegetation, brittle from age and frozen, shows that this basin was possibly covered in subtropical or warm-temperate ferns.

Astrometrics

BD+18 1563 Isonzo is located 122 light-years from Sol in the direction of the galactic core, and trailing. It is plus nineteen light-years "above" Earth on the galactic z-axis. The nearest Federation colony is Izar and the nearest sapient species are the B'Saari. BD+18 1563 Isonzo is a Type A star, a main sequence white star roughly 40% larger than Sol and almost 82% more massive. It is a hotter star than Sol. The star itself is aging and likely has less than a billion years before it swells into a Red Giant phase. The star's mean temperature has already increased 187 Kelvin between the Daedalus' initial survey and those done more recently by the Konstanin Tsiolkovsky..

Isonzo I is a Coronic Class E planet. It resides nearly within the star's corona and has a semi-liquid nickel-iron-carbon surface. It is a large but eroding world 110% the size of Earth. It's atmosphere has been blasted away. Isonzo II is a Chthonic Class D planet the size of Mars. The Konstanin Tsiolkovsky's scans were indeterminate but suggest the world was likely a Cytherian or Pseudo-Jovian Class T and has had its atmosphere and regolith blasted away. Isonzo III is a smaller-than-average, warm Class J gas giant less than half the size of Jupiter. It has a ring system and a total of nine moons, none of them exhibiting habitability scores enough to warrant attention.

Isonzo IV is just inside the cold edge of the Isonzo star's "Goldilock's zone." It is a Class J world with an atmospheric composition that makes it more like a Super-Venus. It has water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia with very little free hydrogen. Isonzo IV is 90% the size of Saturn and has a number of large moons. The largest of them is the third satellite, Isonzo IVc, a Class P moon.

Beyond the planetary systems, Isonzo notably has a region of fine particulates that never formed into anything more than some "cosmic dust flakes." However, it is quite extensive- almost 300 AU from the interior line to the exterior line. Most of it is frozen gas compounds around pieces of carbon or silicon. However, the interaction of this cosmic dust seems to make ion storms and ripples of "space lightning" a very common feature. The powerful solar storms and stellar winds of the Isonzo star seem to excite these particles into creating the storms, which can last days.

Initial Survey

A Class X Probe launched from the starship Daedalus passed through the BD+18 1563 Isonzo star system on December 28th, 2272. Until that time the only survey done by any known group was a small Denobulan medical survey vessel who scanned the system at long-range, looking for habitable worlds. Neither they nor the Daedalus primitive sensors at the time noted anything of particular, immediate interest. The third moon around the gas giant Isonzo IV had nebulous Class P readings. Initial curiosity from the Daedalus was not around the habitability of the system, but some unusual subspace readings and heavy ion storms emitting from the Isonzo star. The Captain of the Daedalus deemed the risk too high to enter the system at the time.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Survey

The Federation science vessel (not associated with Starfleet, but the Federation Science Council) Konstantin Tsiolkovsky first entered the Isonzo system several months ago in an effort to chart a location for a joint space telescope project with the B'Saari. Initially deemed unsuitable, Captain Raymond Lenard Coos decided to take the ship into the system to investigate some strange readings from the star. The size of the Isonzo star makes the threat of supernova a possibility in the far future. Their initial survey turned sour when the star began to excite the outer dust belt into a powerful ion storm. The Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was forced to land on a moon of Isonzo IV to weather the storm, as their vessel was less well shielded compared to Starfleet vessels.

Surface Survey

As they waited out the storms, Raymond Coos approved a foray of geologists and mineralogists to examine the moon. They stumbled across what appeared to be glaciated ruins, which turned out to be an extensive array of both surface and subterranean complexes. The pictography on some of the ruins were similar to objects found in a burial of an alien being outside of EcoStation Bono in Ghana several years ago. The scientists could not make out the pictography or discern any language or meaning. But they noted that the structures were artificial and seemed to be formed of something akin to a superstrong silk. Further, a form of resin, which was similar to transparent crystal, also suggested a biological origin.

Similarities to the Ghana (or Ananse) Burial

The limited amount of remains found in Ghana suggested a life form roughly 30% larger than a Human Being, that was either a decapod (10 limbs) or dodecapod (12 limbs). Much of the being appeared to have been cartilaginous but a basic shape- something similar to a spider or crab- was ascertained. There were scratchings in similar patterns (pictographs?) in the burial but neither the Federation or Starfleet was able to discern any meanings- merely that the Ghana Burial and the ruins on Isonzo seem to share similar marking pattern dispersion.

Yxtoxi Pipe Organs

Main Article: Yxtoxi Organ

The surveyors of the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky were first tipped toward the existence of rumors by a sound that could only be described as "haunting." Some of the personnel's logs around the affair include, "Genuinely made me second-guess believing in ghosts," and, "It was the most baleful, mourning sound I've ever heard." Multi-toned and resonant in almost a haptic way, this low-level sound oscillation was at first a mystery. It was discovered that as atmospheric pressure dropped in the caves, the imbalance of it created a breeze. The evacuated pressure caused artificial structures similar to the pipe organs of a Church to "moan." The system, while unmapped at the time, somehow caused the same vibration in the bedrock. It's purpose is unknown but is clearly artificial. The organs are made of the same materials as some of the buildings.

Solar Weather Activity

Presence of Ion Storms

Presence of Soliton Particle Radiation