Styx
| ||
| Orbital characteristics | ||
| Mass (Kg) | 2.68E+23 | |
| Radius (Km) | 1,925 | |
| Solar Day (h) | 48 | |
| Orbital Period (days) | 2 | |
| Semi-Major Axis (Km) | 356,801(km) | |
| Periapsis (AU) | .002 | |
| Apoapsis (AU) | .002 | |
| Albedo | 0 | |
| Surface Temperature (K) | 147 | |
| Surface Gravity (m/s^2) | 4.84 | |
| Axial Tile (degrees) | 2.4 | |
| Inclination (degrees) | 0 | |
| Orbital Speed (Km/s) | 6.34 | |
| Satellites | None | |
Styx is the first of the three major moons of the planet Thalassa.
North Polar Regions
The North Polar Regions of Styx are dominated by dark, ancient terrain broken by frost-bright uplands, crater rims, and broad zones of fractured ground. The highest northern latitudes are covered in patchy bright deposits spread across rough polar plains, with darker exposed crust showing through between them. Large fissures, escarpments, and cratered plateaus give the north a broken and heavily reworked appearance.
Along the lower edge of the northern polar zone, the brighter frost-covered terrain gives way to darker lowlands marked by large impact basins and long structural breaks. Several of the most prominent northern features are steep-walled troughs and fractured uplands extending across the polar transition belt. These features give the region a strongly tectonic character in addition to its heavy cratering.
Equatorial Regions
The Equatorial Regions of Styx are dominated by dark plains, immense impact basins, and broad streaks of lighter surface material spread across the low latitudes. Much of the equatorial belt consists of very low-reflectivity terrain, broken by large circular depressions, degraded crater walls, and isolated rough uplands. Sweeping bands of pale dust or frost-stained material extend across the middle latitudes, giving the equatorial zone its most distinctive large-scale pattern.
Several major basins define this region. One especially large circular depression dominates the eastern equatorial belt, while other broad crater floors and partially buried basins extend across the central and western low latitudes. The lighter material is concentrated in long diffuse streaks and basin-margin deposits, indicating widespread transport and redistribution across the surface. The equator contains the broadest uninterrupted exposures of Styx’s dark rocky crust and preserves much of the moon’s large-scale impact history.
Southern Polar Regions
The Southern Polar Regions of Styx are brighter and more extensively ice-covered than much of the equatorial surface. Broad frozen plains, fractured ice-rich deposits, and rough rocky interruptions extend across the southern high latitudes. The southern cap is uneven and broken, with enclosed basins, exposed ridges, and dark cratered masses projecting through the frozen terrain.
The transition from the southern polar ice to the darker middle latitudes is highly irregular. Ice and frost collect in low basins, spread across broken plains, and gather along the margins of rough terrain, while exposed dark ground remains visible across much of the polar boundary. This gives the south a more complex and varied structure than a single continuous cap. The southern hemisphere combines permanent frozen deposits with ancient impact-scarred terrain and broad zones of fractured ground.
