Ceiba



Solar System: Tamoa (tah-moh'-ah). [From the Mayan name for paradise.]

Planet: Ceiba (say-ee'-bah). [From the World Tree of Mayan mythology.]

NOTE: Humanity has assigned names from Mayan and Aztec mythology to the suns, planets, and moons in this system 

Star #1 (binary star system): Quetzel (ket'-zol). [First half of the Aztec deity Quetzlcoatl.]

Star #2 (binary star system): Coatl (koo-yah'-til). [Second half of the Aztec deity Quetzlcoatl.]

• Quetzel and Coatl are a pair of aging suns of 1.3M (solar masses) each. They provide a yellowish daylight hue on Ceiba.



• The second planet from the system’s binary stars, Quetzel and Coatl. 

• A Ceiban year is 729 Ceiban days.

• Due to the gravitational interactions with its moon, Ceiba spins faster than Earth; a Ceiban day is approximately 22 Earth hours.

• Ceiba gravity is approximately 0.95g.



• Ceiba is a water-covered world with large oceans but no polar ice caps.

• One supercontinent largely sitting along the planet's equatorial belt and numerous mountainous archipelagos jutting out into the planet’s oceans.

• Largely tropical, with dense and expansive jungle over rocky terrain.

 • The coasts are uniformly covered in dense jungle and a few arid/desert-like plateaus where the mountainous terrain raises to some relatively higher escarpments.

• The coastal areas are extremely rocky and treacherous, being subject to massive tidal sea level changes and very large waves due to the gravitational impact of Ceiba’s large moon, Pekku.

• The atmosphere is highly oxygenated due to the massive rainforests covering the mega-continent. It also maintains a relatively high carbon dioxide percentage to support high density floral growth.  65% nitrogen, 32% oxygen, 2% carbon dioxide.

• Ocean-dwelling fauna have yet to be well-explored, though huge leviathans are known to populate its vast expanse.

• Severe hurricanes are common, though usually not intensely felt on the continent at ground level beneath the jungle's canopy.



Pekku (Peh'-koo). [From the Mayan god of thunder.]

• Pekku is Ceiba's solitary moon. 

• Pekku's orbit takes 30 days to complete.  

• It is a third the size of Ceiba, large enough that the two almost form a binary planetary system. 

• Pekku plays a significant role in Ceiba’s planetary climate. The size of the moon creates massive tidal and weather system impacts as the moon transits its orbit. 

• A moon of Pekku's size results in a typical day/night pattern for most of the moon's orbit  – until the moon eclipses the suns.

• Eclipse: Over the course of five Ceiban days, the moon moves through partial into total eclipse. At full eclipse, daytime is a pseudo-twilight, with a great glowing disk dominating the sky. 

Metnal [from the Mayan name for the underworld]: The planet closest to Quetzel and Coatl; a tidally locked molten rock. 

The system has three large gas giants beyond the goldilocks zone (in order of increasing orbital distance):

Manik [from the Mayan god of sacrifice]: Blue in hue; brighter in the skies of Ceiba due to greater proximity and size.

Nacon [from the Mayan god of war]: Reddish hue

Naum [from the Mayan god of the mind and consciousness]

Luke Salvalaggio (planet name, star system, and global conditions)