Apogee Flare

Reported by Captain Zot Chesthair

Subsequent missions to Polvera have confirmed the phenomenon first noted by the crew of the Garrulous during the initial survey mission. Due to the mass and peculiar ecliptic of Polvera, very few stable orbits exist for Earth-typical survey vessels. The most stable orbit has become known as the P-3 orbit, as it was the third to be calculated by the Garrulous's computers. P-3 is a near polar orbit, and completes one revolution approximately every 240 minutes.

The apogee of the P-3 orbit occurs at 49 degrees, 50.8743 minutes North latitude when the orbiter is moving from the North pole towards the equator, and the same South latitude when moving from the South pole towards the equator. When the orbiter is at apogee while between Polvera and its primary star, the surface of the planet reflects the starlight in a particular, fixed configuration. The configuration shows signs of being artificial, though the pattern shown covers nearly a fifth of the planetary disk's width. Theoretical exogeologists have suggested that the reflective material is a crystalline form of Polverite, but they have not yet determined whether it is a natural deposit or one put into place on purpose.

No attempt has yet been made to determine if the pattern is linguistic.

See Also:
Garrulous
Polverite


This is an ABC entry in the Polvera Lexicon

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