Ceth is the third planet from Kerolon and Kerilim in the Kerolon System. It is a desert planet just skimming the inner edge of the habitable zone.
In-game Description[]
"Ceth is a dry, sandy world barely within the habitable zone. This means that it is constantly being blasted with an uncomfortably large amount of sunlight radiating from Kerolon and Kerilim. It’s surface consists of a global desert, completely dry except for a few small seas and oases, supplied with water from sparse precipitation and underground springs. be warned, however, that it would probably be a bad idea to drink the water on this planet due to its high salt content. Ceth is part of a double planetary system with Klip."
Physical Characteristics[]
Ceth is known to be a mostly dry world skirting the inside edge of the habitable zone. Because of this, the planet has reached high temperatures on the surface, too high to support liquid water on the surface. However, it is possible Ceth may have underground oases below the surface. These underground reservoirs are likely the cause of some of the interesting, almost unnatural sand patterns spanning the planet.
Atmosphere[]
Ceth has a very thin atmosphere for an E-class planet, coming in at a measly 0.12 atmospheric pressures and having a height of 50 km. The atmosphere is therefore not as good at retaining moisture, so Ceth only has small/wispy clouds and occasional rainfall.
Climate[]
Ceth used to be much cooler and had large oceans of liquid water. This is because the habitable zone was a lot closer to Kerolon just a few hundred million years ago. Just recently in the geological record, most of Ceth's water vaporized and was stripped off into space, leaving a mostly dry planet with a few salty seas.
Now, the planet's climate is dominated by temperature differences instead of large oceans like on Kerbin. Dust storms are frequent, and daytime/nighttime temperatures vary dramatically. Precipitation is rare on this planet, so any living creatures will have a hard time surviving in the middle of the desert.
Ceth serves as a reminder of Kerolon's rapidly moving habitable zone, and the future of most habitable worlds that reside in the Kerolon System.
Moon[]
Ceth is part of a binary planet system with its moon Klip. This is a result of the large size of Klip compared to Ceth. Because of this, both bodies experience strong mutual tidal forces.
Possibilities of Life[]
Ceth could host a variety of heat-resistant lifeforms that live both under the sandy surface or in the underground oases. However, this life would consists of mostly simple, single-cellular extremophile organisms due to the harshness of their environment. Certain hardy plant and animal species could live here, although they would be rare.
Scientists are already using what they know about Ceth to paint a picture of what life would look like. Most scientists are in agreement that the life would either be in the poles or in underground caverns filled with water, meaning that most of the life likely lacks eyes due to the low visibility. The life would instead use sonar to see, like the bats on Kerbin.
Some scientists say that in the past, Ceth used to host advanced ecosystems when it fit snug into the habitable zone, rather than skirting the edge of it. This means that ancient Ceth may have been covered in dense, blue forests. and life may have spread out to the rest of the Kerolon System from there. If this is the case, fossilized remains of ancient species may exist in the sands of the deserts.
Biomes[]
- Dried up lakes
- Old shores
- Desert Lowlands
- Desert Midlands
- Desert Highlands
- Peaks
- Polar Area
Trivia[]
- Ceth is the only D-Class planet in the Kerolon System.