Laythe is the third moon of Jool. In KSS Laythe has 2 variants. One being called 'Icy Laythe' resembling the Jovian moon Europa. And a 'Warm Laythe' variant with craters and a shallow ocean.
In-game Description[]
"Laythe is a cold and icy moon of Jool that has an airless surface completely covered with ice. However, kerbal scientists are mostly in agreement that there is likely a vast ocean that exists under the surface ice, heated by tidal forces originating from Jool. There may even be strange creatures swimming in the inky depths, but it will never be certain until someone plans a mission there to take a look!"
Physical Characteristics[]
Laythe is the most interesting moon of Jool, despite its rather drab looking appearance. The surface is mostly a dull white, but it is covered in red cracks called lineae. These lineae are also made of ice, but are infused with salts from underground.
Laythe is famous for its theorized subsurface ocean. Tidal forces from Jool allow for the internal mantle of Laythe to be made with liquid water, with more water in the ocean than on all of Kerbin.
Exosphere[]
Laythe is known to have a faint exosphere, much like the other major moons of Jool. However, Laythe's exosphere seems to be made mostly of oxygen, which can't be stable. This indicates that oxygen is being produced, but we don't know where. It's possible it's created via anaerobic processes, but we have to admit, the possibility of alien life is a tempting thing to say for this famous moon. In addition to oxygen, Laythe's exosphere is also composed of large amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, similar to our atmosphere.
Orbit[]
Laythe is in an orbital resonance with Pol and Tylo, keeping the 3 moons stable. For every 1 orbit Laythe completes, Pol completes 2 and Tylo completes 1/2.
Possibilities of Life[]
Laythe is a barren icy world, preventing life from existing on the surface due to the lack of atmosphere and excessive amounts of radiation from Jool. However, tidal forces from Jool allow a subsurface ocean to form under the ice. In the ocean, there may be some creatures swimming in the pitch black waters, possibly living off ecosystems based off of subsurface volcanism and hydrothermal vents. A similar ecosystem may be found on Eeloo, and other similar icy worlds across the universe. Scientist theorize that life under Laythe's ice would have no eyes (or have eyes that detect infrared light), and use other means to detect prey and obstacles, such as echolocation or electrolocoation.
Biomes[]
- Lineae
- Reddish Terrain
- Chaos Terrain
- Icy Lowlands
- Icy Midlands
- Icy Highlands
Gallery[]
Jool, seen from Laythe