Altaris IV

			Memory 118

Altaris IV
Stellar Cartography
Region	Unknown
Sector	Unknown
System	Altaris System
Sun(s)	Altaris Major
Moon(s)	none
Class	M
Physical
Diameter	31855 km
Atmosphere	27% Oxygen, 3% Carbon Dioxide, 58% Nitrogen, 12% Inert/trace gases
Hydrosphere	75.0%
Climate	Normal
Gravity	1g
Primary terrain	Stable
Points of interest	None
Length of Day	24hr
Length of Year	462 days
Native species	Altarians
Other species	None
Societal
Official Language	NA
Population	25 million
Technological Classification	H
Major cities	NA
Imports	NA
Exports	NA
Affiliation	None
Government	Democratic

Planetary Description

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Altaris IV consists of two major continents. One in the Northern hemisphere (called Beldan) and one in the south (Telorn), and is dominated by seas, although not nearly as much as Earth. The northern continent (Beldan), is dominated by vegetation and has many different forms of wildlife. Tropical forests fill the southern part of the continent, but as the latitude increases, the forests give way to vast plains, and that is where the majority of the planets population are situated.

The southern continent is dominated by canyons and huge mountains, with very many active volcanos. With the dominate winds scouring the the surface, there is very little topsoil, and thus, very little vegetation.

Climate

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Altaris IV has an amazingly complex weather system with was completely unexplainable by current theories on climate. However, when it was first discovered, it was a Restricted planet due to it's pre-warp status. The whole population is based in the smaller northern continent, Beldan, as the significantly larger Telorn continents climate is a lot less hospitable than its northern neighbors. The Northern hemisphere is generally subject to much better weather than the southern continent. The average temperature is about 5 degrees higher than Earths global mean. The Altaris year ( 462 days) is split into only two main seasons, equivalent to summer and winter, the transition between the two is rapid, and the calendar of the Altarians is based so that the transition happens at the beginning and middle of the year. The summer of Beldan results in conditions very similar to the tropics of Earth: high humidity and temperature interspersed with frequent thunderstorms and showers. The winter is still warm but is subject to frequent severe storms involving hail, hurricanes or even sleet, which begin with little or no warning and end with similarly no warning. During the winter the temperature can plummet or soar very rapidly with no apparent pattern.

The Southern hemisphere is subject to almost perpetual high winds and very frequent rain and sleet storms. Wheras Beldan is situated half way between the equator and the North Pole, Telorn is situated over the South Pole. The mean temperature of Telorn is significantly lower than Beldan, and depending on the time of year, often strays below 0 degrees Celsius, plummeting as low as -20. Several theories have been put forward to explain these unique climate features, however, with recent renewed contact with the Federation, further study is imminent.

((Heading|Federation Reports|Green}} 106 years ago, a Federation science vessel crashlanded on the Beldan continent. The Altarian society was at level E- on the Richter scale and not yet ready for first contact. The Government kept the contact secret from the general public, but asked for no contact until they felt the time was right. Altaris IV was declared off limits once the team and ship were recovered. However the government has contacted the Federation on SD 237411.14 about wanting some observation with a prototype FTL drive equivalent. This equivalent only had a maximum of warp 4 on the Revised Cochrane scale. This warp field actually formed an alternate universe around the ship. However, after the test's catastrophic results, they agreed to suspend further use of the warp drive, and the Federation Council placed sharing warp technology with them on their agenda.