Prompt 6 - Alpha Moon Geology

Prompt:

Alpha’s Geology - What is the typical weather/climate like? What is the non-typical or disastrous weather like? How much land is temperate, equatorial or polar? Is there an ocean(s)? How large? What are the natural resources this moon? What is Alpha's name and day length?

Answer:

Novis is a dense planet with higher gravity than one would expect from a moon of its size, likely due to the Haze. As a tidally locked planet one side of the planet is pointing directly at Apophis and the other is always facing away from the gas giant. Geologically the planet is divided into "Apophis side" and "Determinate side".

The Equator runs at a slight angle off center through both regions. Around the equator there is frequent Volcanic Activity, especially under the seas in the region which can resulting occasional large pillars of steam.

On the Determinate side, the environment of the planet is largely temperate, the haze storms rarely reach the far end of the planet, making it the safest area on the planet. The environment there includes:

• cool savannahs
• Deserts
• a primeval forest as you near the equator
• humid subtropical climate (generally have no marked dry season with rainfall and relative humidity evenly distributed)
• Mediterranean climate (have a dry summer, with rainfall in cooler months)
• Oceanic (cool summers and cool (but not cold) winters, with relative humidity and precipitation evenly distributed)
• continental climate (extreme seasonal differences due to no nearby ocean. summers as hot as subtropical & winters as cold as in subpolar)
• The southern pole with its subpolar/tundra climate

The Apophis side is where it gets unpredictable, due to its proximity to the gas giant, the Haze storms strike the surface with great intensity. The storms, however are not storms by the conventional sense, but rather bouts of severe reality warps, that sometimes completely alter the geology of the area affected. This is described as "terraforms" by the locals. While the Apophis side is incredible dangerous, it is also greatly useful as a potential source of infinite resources, the local authorities have made it a protocol to send "storm expeditions ", groups of highly trained individuals sent to retrieve anything of value from the haze storms before the next shift reality occurs.

It orbits Apophis in 1.25 days (30 hour day) and has a gravity of 1.2 g.