Thaumas

Thaumas is the watercovered homeworld of the Kraken and a colony of several human empires.

Astronomical Data
Named after a minor greek ocean god whose name means wonder, Thaumas is located relatively close to Earth, only some 775 light years away in the left foot of the constellation Orion. It orbits Rigel B, a binary starsystem with two mainsequence stars of 2.5 versus 1.9 solar masses orbiting their center of gravity every 9.8 days, separated by a distance of 28 AU (1 AU = Earth-Sun distance). Rigel B orbits the primary star of the Rigel system, Rigel A, a pulsating blue supergiant several hundred times larger and 85 000 times as luminous as Sol at a distance of 2200 AU. Depending on the orbit of the planet and the stars, the number of suns can vary from one to three. Thaumas completes it's orbit around Rigel B, which is about 1.3 times that of Pluto, in approximately 245.6 Earth years. Thaumas has an axial tilt of 187.3° and a retrograde rotation. The length of a day varies by several hours from the equator to the poles due to a phenomenon called differential rotation which occurs in gaseous and fluid bodies. Simply speaking, different parts of the planet rotate at different speeds, like the cloud bands of Jupiter. The planet has a stated rotation period of 11 hours 58 minutes, which is the internal rotation period as determined from the rotation of the magnetic field. Thaumas has a mass higher than all the planets in the solar system combined and dwarfs even Jupiter in size. The planet is composed almost entirely of water, surrounding a sulphuric carbonide core of ca 3 Earth masses. As in many large gas giants, the core is incredibly hot, nearly four times as hot as the surface of the sun and the Earth's core. The enormous heat and pressure at the core leads to the formation of many rare materials not found in the Solar system, such as diamonds the size of Ayers Rock and rare energy rich ice, which is why the human race was drawn to the planet. The core has a solid crust where it meets the ocean, and a very high volcanic actvity, releasing hydrogensulfide, sulfurdioxide, methane, carbondioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and organic compounds into the water. Water being the heaviest at 4 degrees celsius, the superheated core also keeps the water moving and temperate, as the heated water near the core always rises toward the surface. This is crucial for the life on Thaumas, as it keeps the water in between the core and the surface habitable and filled with nutrients.

Iris
Named after the rainbow goddess and daughter of Thaumas.