Britomartis

**Britomartis**, or **Itzubanu**, is a habitable moon in the Upsilon Andromeda binary system, inhabited by the Britomartian species. Britomartis was named after the Greek goddess of the same name, who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete, Earth.

## Properties and Climate

Britomartis is located in the binary system of Upsilon Andromeda, which is 44 light years away from Earth. Upsilon Andromeda consists of a main sequence F type or known as Upsilon Andromeda A and a red dwarf companion star known as Titawin. Britomartis orbits the third gas giant in the system known as Majriti.

Majriti is a little bit bigger than Jupiter and has an orange, hasy surface lined with many storms, belts and jets. Britomartis is larger than Venus but still smaller than Earth, it is one of ten spherical moons and is the second largest only behind the largest moon Prometheus.

Britomartis and Prometheus were once independent astronomical bodies but were captured by Majriti's gravitational influence, then both settled in orbit. Britomartis also has three shepherd moons in its ring system.

### Ecosystem

*Main Article:* Fauna and Flora

Britomartis is about 4.3 billion years old and has an abundance of exotic wildlife on it. Organisms on Britomartis are really different from life on Earth, for example instead of having eyes they have buds or small specs that vibrate giving them sonar vision. This greatly helps them see at night and have an extended field of view. Most complex organisms on Britomartis also have their neck extend outward, they have this because they can extend their jaw out ward to reach higher branches on trees, kill their prey, etc.

They also have teeth inside their neck that move back and forth shredding their food so it can be digested easier. Some complex organisms also have there nostrils on the sides of their necks instead of the head, they also have vents on their neck to communicate, which is present in Britomartians. Many intelligent beasts also have their brain located somewhere else than the head like in the center of the body where it is well protected. Creatures on Britomartis wether on the land, air or sea can be massive. This is because of the atmospheric composition of Britomartis having greater oxygen levels and slightly lower gravity allowing creatures to become huge

## Astronomy

Britomartis has a twenty-four day orbit and for three days it passes behind Majriti and receives no sunlight. Temperatures can drop to freezing (extremely rare) but usually the temperatures drop to the 50s and 40s. As a result of this most plants developed bioluminescence and leaves and branches that could withstand the colder temperatures. Some animals have bioluminescence but it is mostly common with sea creatures and a few smaller creatures though there are a few exceptions.

Radiation is also a problem, but it is not a great issue because Britomartis orbits outside of Majriti's radiation belts, and it has a stronger magnetic field than Earth's. Lifeforms adapted to the radiation by developing tougher skin that can deflect more radiation. Plants also developed a method where they can also absorb radiation wave lengths that are exactly like solar radiation. So they can still continue photosynthesis for long periods of time without sunlight. But sometimes plants could have a problem if they have to much sunlight, this can happen because they evolved to take in less amounts of sunlight due to the three day long periods of darkness.

Tidal effects allow the moon to sustain plate tectonics, which cause volcanic activity to regulate the moon's temperature and create a geodynamic effect which gives Britomartis a strong magnetic field.