Glau

Glau.

Inbox to be redone.
Glau is the 6th planet around Verda and the largest planet in the Verda System. It is host to 4 planet-sized moons, and many much smaller ones.

## Physical Characteristics

Glau is widely known as being the largest planet currently known in the local stellar neighborhood. It is extremely close to being a brown dwarf, at ten standard gas giant masses. A gas giant this big is not believed to have been formed via core-accretion, but instead formed via a *density wave*, likely further out in the system, thus explaining the gap between itself and Nerella. Because of this, it likely does *not* have a rocky core, although rocky debris captured later in formation may have drifted to the center and formed one.

## Atmosphere

Despite its awesome size, Glau has a relatively normal atmosphere for a jovian planet. Primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, it also contains smaller quantities of methane, ammonia, and water vapor present. Active internal heating drives strong winds on the "surface" of the planet, as well as many storm systems.

## Rings

Glau has a vast set of rings, with many shepherd moons orbiting within gaps in them. These massive rings are a result of a large moon passing below the rather high roche limit of the planet and breaking up. The most important moons in the rings are Amalta and Thebba, which are rather unique due to their strange compositions.

## Orbit and Rotation

Glau's orbit marks the boundary between the inner and outer zones of the Verda system. It is beyond the habitable zone for water and near the inner edge of the temperate zone for liquid methane. Glau's rotation is also relatively slow for a gas giant, at 14 hours.

## History

Glau was the brightest object in the night sky to prehistoric peoples. It's discovery is unknown, but it was named after the ancient Terallan god of storms, Glau, which seems a rather fitting name, considering the lower atmosphere contains some of the fastest winds in the solar system. In 214 BFO, Keyla Kellelai pointed her telescope at Glau and observed it's four major moons for the first time. They were the first moons other than Jevethra's to be observed. She also observed the great Yellow Spot, which has since disappeared.

A few centuries later, the first probe was sent to the planet, which observed the moons up close for the first time, and discovered the liquid water beneath the ice of Marthys. Later, the *Epicco Trek* (See Jevethra) was redirected to Glau and the crew was the first to land on each of the moons. However, the landing mission on Eoros failed as the unforseen "taffy crust" collapsed beneath the lander, destroying it and killing all on board. The *Trek* then stayed in orbit around Tirtan, using its spaceplane to explore the moon, before returning to Teralla.

The system was later colonized by the Verdan Federation, starting with Tarsis. Due to its unique environment, it took a fairly long time to colonize and dropped behind the population of other moons like Liratan and Eoros. Eoros, containing lots of sulfur and other valuable minerals, was heavily mined to construct habitation structures around the planet.

Marthys, on the other hand, was left completely alone, due to its unique subglacial ecology. To this day, a quarantine is enforced around the moon (with the exception of a tiny research base). Tirtan, the last major moon, was home to a unique hydrocarbon-solvent ecosystem in certain areas, but other regions were essentially sterile. These regions were used to construct large computers and factories, which benefit from the extreme cold of Tirtan's surface.

Today, the system has a population of almost 1 quadrillion people, about 1/10 of the total system population.

## Moons

Glau is known to have four planet-sized moons and many smaller ones.

* Minor Inner Moons
* Eoros
* Deia
* Marthys
* Tirtan
	+ Akkar
* Themissa
* Even more asteroids

Full list below:

## Abbreviations:

**LoAN** - Longitude of the Ascending Node

**AoP** - Argument of Periapsis

## Biomes

Glau has 5 surface biomes.

* Equatorial Belt
* Polar Regions
* Temperate Belt
* Sub-Equatorial Belt
* Irregular Belt

Glau also has 3 altitude-based biomes.

* Crush Zone
* Middle Atmosphere
* Upper Atmosphere