Exploring the Stars

Chapter 5 - Searching for Treasures

(There are italicized words in this chapter that are foreign. Knowing their meaning isn't needed, but it helps know the characters using them a bit more. The final chapter of this book is a listing of these words with their meanings.)

Personal Journal, Ksenia Solovyova

Date: 174-3-26

Aksana, this trip – with this group! – has been such an amazing experience! Never have I been with such support.

Ksenia dear, you have had the support, it has just not been as glaringly obvious to you. Think back, from the day you were first given to me, how your team leader in creche helped you to see how I could help you. And later, when you learned about math ...

Dear, I know – you are right, Atlantis has supported me since they first saved me. What I mean is these friends have taken that support to a higher level. Yes, Atlantis has helped me find my passion, but these people are showing me how I can drive it further than I had ever believed I could!

Ah – you aren't saying you haven't had support in Atlantis, but that these people are taking it steps further.

Da, zaychonok. They are "showing me the stars" by helping me literally explore the stars!  As well as themselves!!  😃

– o O o –

Once Ksenia joined the rest of the team on the bridge, she jumped the Udyamita to the gas giant. She put the ship above the planet high enough that they were able to use its gravity to build velocity for a close orbit – they circled roughly 10,000 klicks above its atmosphere, but they were well inside its dim set of rings.

As with Jupiter in their own solar system, this gas giant's rings were faint when compared to Saturn's. There was no massive storm raging in the planet's clouds, but there were definite color bands in them. The planet also had several moons, which Ksenia knew caused the empty bands in the rings.

Gamal stared out at the planet, and asked, "Ksenie, dear, is Jupiter this lovely up close as well?"

Ksenia said, "Nyet, Doctor, it is more. The colors are more ... 'vibrant'? – Da, vibrant is the word. They stay in your mind much more than this beast. Think of Neptune and compare it to Jupiter."

With a frown, Gamal shook her head, and bemoaned, "But I've only seen pictures of our planets."

Smiling, Hari replied, "Dear Gama, this trip is going to be such a treat for you. OK, think of a cloud in the middle of the day, then think of one at dusk. This is what our Ksenia is trying to convey."

Dannay said, "And very shortly, you will have the joy of seeing your first sun set outside our solar system." As they passed around the planet from its primary, they were able to see some changes in the colors as the sun passed through the upper layers of clouds.

As they orbited, they sent drones into its upper atmosphere to check the chemical composition. Once the drones had been recovered, Dannay asked Ksenia, "So what do you think we're looking at?"

"Planetary makeup is out of my primary focus, Dannay," she replied, "but in our general work, we built various theories of gas giant make-up. And our expeditions to the four gas giants in our own system give me a good idea of what to look for here.

"The samples returned from the six drones we sent out show hydrogen and helium, and little else, as expected. From our orbit, we see it is much denser than Saturn. From its mass, I have to guess it has a larger rocky core as well. I say it is twice Saturn's mass, possibly more.

"Its spectrum, from when we passed into its shadow, shows there are several compounds – methane, water, others. With only this to go on, and unless we intend to spend much more time observing it, that's about all we can say at the moment.