Indigo

Indigo

Orbital characteristics
Mass (Kg)	4.52E+24
Radius (Km)	5,858
Solar Day (h)	79.1
Orbital Period (days)	488
Semi-Major Axis (Km)	1.74E+08
Periapsis (AU)	.96
Apoapsis (AU)	1.29
Albedo	.37
Surface Temperature (K)	202
Surface Gravity (m/s^2)	8.79
Axial Tile (degrees)	9.3
Inclination (degrees)	1.3
Orbital Speed (Km/s)	21.7
Satellites	Momiji, Plateau, Ivory

Indigo is the planet fifth closest to the star Atos. Aside from Micras, Indigo is the system's only other planet theoretically capable of sustaining life.

Mysteries of Indigo

Complex Orbital Interactions

The Indigo-Momiji system is by far the most complex of all the planetary relationships in the Atos System. For one, Indigo and Momiji loosely orbit one another, while both planets are tightly orbited by their own respective moons. It is believed that if Indigo and Momiji were any further apart, they would not orbit one another at all, while if they were any closer, one or both of their moons would inevitably be destroyed; either flung from orbit or destroyed in a collision. The complex interaction between the four bodies which constitute the Indigo-Momiji system is of the utmost interest to scientists researching the Atos System.

The close spacing and low inclination of the Indigo-Momiji binary also make mutual eclipses a regular feature of the system. Because Momiji orbits Indigo at a relatively short distance of roughly 161,000 kilometers, each body appears unusually large in the other’s sky. When the alignment of Atos, Indigo, and Momiji is favorable, Momiji is capable of casting a broad shadow across Indigo’s frozen surface, producing total solar eclipses far larger and more prolonged than those observed on smaller moon-planet systems.

These eclipses do not occur on every Momijian orbit, since the geometry of the system depends on the position of the binary pair relative to Atos and the slight inclination of Momiji’s orbit. Instead, they occur in recurring eclipse seasons, during which a sequence of shadow transits may be observed over several Momijian orbits. On Indigo, such events are most clearly visible across the frozen equatorial oceans and darker ice basins, where Momiji’s shadow may pass as a distinct moving region of darkness across the surface.

The reverse event is even more dramatic. From the surface of Momiji, Indigo appears as a very large body in the sky, substantially larger than Atos. During favorable alignments, Indigo can completely obscure Atos, creating prolonged total eclipses over wide portions of Momiji’s surface. These events produce a distinctive double-night effect, in which one hemisphere may experience ordinary night while another region, still otherwise in daylight, is temporarily darkened by Indigo’s shadow. Between these areas, a band of daylight may remain visible, creating one of the most visually unusual atmospheric and astronomical phenomena known in the Inner Atos System.

Possibility of Life

Indigo lies outside of the habitable range, but many still believe that the planet harbors life.

It is the official view of most reputable scientists that while life is theoretically possible on both Indigo and Momiji, it is very unlikely that any such life currently exists. As evidence of the unlikelihood of life, scientists point to the unforgiving, highly variable climates of the two planets, and the dense, icy atmosphere which covers most of the surface of Indigo in particular.

It is widely believed that life, if it exists, is more likely to occur on Momiji than on Indigo, due to the presence of significant quantities of liquid water on the surface of Momiji. Nevertheless, scientists largely reject the idea that this water is sufficient to sustain life on Momiji.

Despite the overwhelming rejection by scientists of the possibility of life in the Indigo-Momiji system, some religious communities retain beliefs in the existence of intelligent life on the two planets. The Pallisican Religion, for example, places a strict emphasis on the belief that the Aead people actually originate on the planet Indigo. While scientists mostly reject this claim by followers of the Pallisican Religion, they have not as of yet been able to verify the true origin of the Aead.

Extraatosian Intrusions

The Community of Elijah on Indigo was established in late 1722 as a safe haven for the Theogiorickan refugees from Zeta Yll Exuun, belonging to the religious society Community of Elijah and who were denied entry to Theogiorick and Micras by Raspur Pact forces. As such, the community established itself on Indigo, which was a suitable planet for the species due to its cold climate, similar to the community's home planet of Zeta Yll Exuun.

Since then it has been remotely monitored by the deep system elements of the Natopian Spacefleet in anticipation of the day when hostilities resume.

North Polar Regions

A labelled map of the surface of Indigo.

The surface of the planet Indigo, unlabelled.

The North Polar Regions of Indigo are dominated by extensive ice cover, dense cloud, and broad belts of frozen high-latitude terrain. The far north is wrapped in a wide cap of snow and ice broken by darker coastal margins, buried uplands, and enclosed basins. In the northwestern hemisphere, this pale, haze-softened belt is often described as the Veil of Equinox, where the boundary between cloud, surface frost, and older ice becomes especially diffuse. Nearby, the dark enclosed waters and ice-choked basin known as the Threshold Sea interrupt the otherwise continuous white cover, while farther east the darker, more isolated depression called the Eternal Shade Basin forms one of the clearest northern basins visible from orbit. Much of the surface lies beneath frost, compacted snowfields, and persistent atmospheric haze, giving the region a layered and wind-worked character.

The polar landscape preserves older landforms beneath this frozen surface. Dark ridges, basin rims, and rough upland belts emerge through the white cover in scattered sectors, while heavily textured ice fields show compression, drift, and long-term accumulation. Frozen water dominates the northern hemisphere, and seasonal atmospheric movement continually reshapes the upper layers of snow and ice. This is particularly evident around Yoghridge Inlet, where a narrow, partly enclosed northern waterway cuts into the interior, and across the jagged uplands of the Symphonaran Spires, whose broken, icy heights rise above adjacent frozen lowlands. To the east of these, the lighter elevated tract designated the Equilibrist Plateau forms a broad and comparatively stable high interior between the darker northern basins and the more broken eastern terrain.

Cloud cover is especially prominent at these latitudes. Broad white bands and storm systems often blur the boundary between surface and atmosphere. Frozen coastlines, dark enclosed basins, and ice-choked margins define a region shaped by sea ice, glaciation, and permanent cold. Taken together, the Veil of Equinox, Threshold Sea, Eternal Shade Basin, Yoghridge Inlet, Symphonaran Spires, and Equilibrist Plateau give the northern hemisphere a more localized geography while preserving its overall identity as Indigo’s coldest and most heavily cloud-wrapped domain.

Equatorial Regions

The Equatorial Regions of Indigo contain the greatest variety of terrain on the planet. Across the middle latitudes lie dark frozen oceans, ice-covered inland seas, bright snowbound plains, and scattered tan or ochre-toned uplands where bedrock or mineral-rich ground breaks through the surrounding frost. Much of this broad central belt is referred to as the Indomin Expanse, the principal equatorial region of Indigo and the area that most clearly expresses the planet’s fractured geography of dark frozen waters, pale shelves, enclosed bays, and island-like uplands. Near its western-central portion lies the bright circular formation called Amazä Crown, one of the most visually distinctive structures on the planet, standing apart from the surrounding frozen lowlands as a major basin or uplifted ring of lighter material. The equatorial belt is cut by bays, enclosed seas, narrow straits, and island chains, giving it a fractured and highly varied geography.

The broad dark basins that stretch across the equatorial band are frozen oceans. Their darker tone reflects smoother ice, thinner snow cover, and wind-cleared surfaces spread across immense lowland basins. In some places these frozen waters are enclosed by white coastal shelves or broken by island-like uplands, while elsewhere they widen into larger oceanic reaches extending across much of the hemisphere. In the west, the maze of dark channels, islands, and frozen margins called the Twilight Labyrinth forms one of the most intricate marine landscapes on Indigo. South of the main central waters, the terrace-like Harmony Gardens Shelf creates a brighter transition between the darker equatorial seas and the glaciated south. Farther east, Kaion Reach extends along the edge of a major icy corridor, while the narrower dividing passage called the Dichotomess Strait separates adjoining frozen basins in one of the clearest central channels on the map.

One large circular formation stands out as a major basin surrounded by lighter material and distinct from the surrounding frozen lowlands. Around the eastern and southeastern equatorial margins, additional named features further define Indigo’s hydrological geography. Harmonium Sound occupies a storm-touched southeastern waterway where darker frozen sea meets brighter coastal ice, while the long disturbed seam termed the Great Marine Rift marks one of the clearest elongated disruptions in Indigo’s oceanic crust or ice cover. Between the southern central ice masses, the channel called Twin-Voice Strait forms another important dividing waterway, while Akor’s Promontory projects as a southern headland or coastal prominence along the lower edge of the equatorial system.

The atmosphere is highly active across this region. Cloud bands, diffuse plumes, and organized storms pass over both land and ice, and in several sectors the surface below is partly obscured by thick weather systems. Indigo’s equatorial belt is defined by frozen oceans, drifting pack ice, snow-covered coasts, and storm-wrapped channels. Within that broader geography, the Indomin Expanse, Amazä Crown, Twilight Labyrinth, Harmony Gardens Shelf, Kaion Reach, Dichotomess Strait, Harmonium Sound, Twin-Voice Strait, Akor’s Promontory, and the Great Marine Rift provide a more precise vocabulary for the planet’s central seas, shelves, straits, and marine fracture systems.

Southern Polar Regions

The Southern Polar Regions of Indigo are expansive, bright, and heavily glaciated, with immense ice sheets extending across most of the hemisphere. The south is more continuously frozen than many northern areas, with wide white surfaces, embedded darker basins, and long curving bands that indicate large-scale glacial flow over older terrain. This gives the southern hemisphere a sweeping, continental character in orbital view. Along the southwestern approaches to the polar mass lies the broken transitional tract known as the Tikkun Tzel Marches, where snowy margins, exposed darker channels, and irregular coastal ice form one of the clearest fragmented belts in the south. Near the southern center, the darker enclosed basin called Nyarion Deeps interrupts the surrounding brightness and stands out as the major shadowed depression within the southern polar system.

Within the polar mass there is strong internal variation. Folded ridges, smooth frozen plains, circular depressions, and elongated darker margins remain visible beneath or between the brighter layers of ice and snow. Near the lower southern latitudes, the edges of the polar ice become more irregular, opening into darker frozen basins and fragmented coastal zones where sea ice, shelf ice, and exposed shoreline meet. These transitions reflect accumulation, fracture, and slow movement over time. The southern edge of Indigo’s central marine system is especially legible where the Tikkun Tzel Marches give way to brighter glacial surfaces and where Nyarion Deeps interrupts the ice with a darker frozen basin. Nearby, the continuation of Twin-Voice Strait and the projecting form of Akor’s Promontory help connect the southern frozen margins to the equatorial marine belt through narrow channels and ice-bound coastal ground.

Large storm systems are also visible over the southern ice margins, reinforcing the strength of Indigo’s hydrological and atmospheric cycles under severe cold. The southern hemisphere is defined by glacial sheets, frozen coastlines, dark ice-covered seas, and heavy cloud, with surface water held in frozen form across the planet. As seen from orbit, the southern polar regions preserve the clearest record of Indigo’s frozen hydrological world: a landscape of moving ice, enclosed dark basins, and fractured coastal transitions, with the Tikkun Tzel Marches and Nyarion Deeps standing out as the best-defined named regions within the broader southern ice mass.

Unusual Qualities

The shadow of Momiji drifts across the surface of Indigo.

Indigo is notable for deep pressure flashes beneath parts of its frozen equatorial oceans, where the ice flexes over subsurface liquid layers. These flashes are most often described as brief blue or blue-white glows seen through smoother sections of the ice in the darkened equatorial basins. The leading explanation links them to cryotectonic stress, friction along pressurized ice boundaries, and the sudden release of energy within buried liquid reservoirs beneath the frozen oceanic crust.

The frozen oceans of Indigo are also crossed by slow-moving fracture systems that shift over very long periods as the underlying ice shell responds to tidal and internal stresses. In some regions, these buried or semi-buried structures subtly alter the surface above them, producing bands of smoother ice, broken pressure ridges, and darker elongated basins where the frozen ocean surface has been repeatedly deformed. Together, these features give Indigo an unusual combination of surface stillness and concealed internal motion, with much of its activity taking place beneath the ice rather than above it.

Ongoing Research

Research by Passio-Corum

Research Probes

IASS-00IM1

IASS-00IM1

Orbital characteristics
Mass (Kg)	478
Radius (Km)	1.5(m)
Solar Day (h)	N/A
Orbital Period (days)	1.82
Semi-Major Axis (Km)	57,299
Periapsis (AU)	.000342
Apoapsis (AU)	.000424
Albedo	N/A
Surface Temperature (K)	196
Surface Gravity (m/s^2)	.00000000142
Axial Tilt (degrees)	4.82
Inclination (degrees)	4.82
Orbital Speed (Km/s)	27

The third of the research probes to be launched as part of the Inner Atos System Survey, the IASS-00IM1 was deployed on 36/1/35 PSSC on a mission to gather geographic and atmospheric data relating to the Indigarian and Momijian surface, and to investigate the possibility of life or the potential for settlement on either or both of the planets. Foremost among the missions of the IASS-00IM1 is to gather enough data to allow researchers to improve existing maps of the planets.

IASS-00IM1 is expected to arrive in orbit around Indigo in early 40 PSSC. The probe will orbit Indigo at a distance of around 58,554 kilometers, slightly less than halfway in between Indigo and Momiji. The probe will continue, following its arrival at the planet, to collect data for an indefinite period of time.

Mythology

In the religious cosmology of the Reformed Stripping Path, Indigo is venerated as both a planetary body and the divine embodiment of duality, reflection, and reconciliation. As one of the Twin Lady Divines—alongside her sister Momiji—Indigo represents the harmony that emerges from the tension between opposing forces. Her domain encompasses the liminal, the transitional, and the balanced, making her a guiding presence for those navigating moments of inner or cosmic dissonance.

According to canonical tradition, Indigo was born from the twilight margins of creation, a realm neither wholly of light nor darkness. Her mythic role centers on mediating the conflict between extremes—between day and night, strength and vulnerability, presence and absence. Myths such as the Hymn of Indigo portray her as a bringer of equilibrium, responding to imbalance with composed resolve and often through acts of selfless intervention.

Worship of Indigo is especially prominent within the Celestial Harmony Sect of Symphonara, whose rituals emphasize meditation, reconciliation, and spiritual attunement to twilight and transitional states. Indigo is invoked during periods of change—seasonal, emotional, or communal—as a divine archetype of graceful transformation. Her festivals, such as Tikkun Tzel and Nyarion, celebrate her capacity to unify opposites and to foster healing through introspection.

Through her sacred association with the planet Indigo, she is understood not as a deity of extremes, but of convergence—a cosmic mediator whose serenity offers balance in a world defined by contrast.