Deucalion

General Information

• Appeared in: Gehenna's Gate (mentioned)
• In Mission(s): none (Entanglement Edition only)
• In System: Ross 128
• Bitmap(s) used: none
  
  

Christened Deucalion by researchers, this is an ancestral planetoid that, according to detailed astrophysical models, collided with proto-Melancthon early in the history of Ross 128. The consequent coalescence of the two terrestrial masses allowed Melancthon to have an iron-enriched core, a stronger magnetic field and, consequently, an overall better protection from solar radiation, as well as a thin atmosphere; it also caused Melancthon to avoid a tidal lock with its parent star. According to the above mentioned models, the collision has likely happened due to a gravitational perturbation caused by a nearby massive star or black hole: planetary accretion models have not yielded results sufficient to justify the collision.

The name of this celestial body was chosen via a poll posted by a SerRes team member on social media. Melancthon got 57% of the votes while the second option, Deucalion, got 43%; the latter was ultimately used for the ancestral planetoid Melancthon collided with eons before FreeSpace. Though Deucalion is a character from Greek mythology, its appearance in SR is a tribute to a celestial body from the Colony Wars series which is mentioned several times but does not appear in any mission.