HandL is a lush, green world. Smaller than Terra (Earth), it has a diameter of 9,240 km., or 5,730 miles. By comparison, Earth is 12,765 km. or 7,915 miles.
If you visited HandL, you would "lose weight." It's gravity is only 87% of Earth's. So a 150 lb. man on Earth would weight only 130 lbs. on HandL. (Multiply your weight by .87 to see how much you would weigh there).
But HandL is a high iron world, with a relative density of 6.7 (Earth's density is 5.5). Because of this high density, active volcanos and planetquakes are relatively common. Fortunately, the technological level is such that they can be predicted and somewhat controlled.
The planet has a Nitrogen-Oxygen atmosphere, breathable to Terrans (Earthlings). It has less argon, a little more carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of sulfur dioxide (sulfur comes from the volcanoes).
The planet has an axial tilt of 12 degrees, which would ordinarily mean milder climate changes than Earth. But HandL has virtually no seasons at all, because it has such a short year. A HandLian year is about 59.6 Earth days, or 52.4 GSD (Galactic Standard Days). So a year there is about the same length as two months on Earth. (Remember that a year is the time it takes a planet to orbit it's sun once). HandL's sun is Bloodstar, not to be confused with the person, BloodStar.
But how long is a local HandLian day, and how many local days are there in a HandLian year? There is no real answer, because HandL doesn't have any days. The planet is tide locked, meaning the same side always faces the sun. (For comparison, Earth's moon is tide locked to Earth--every time you see the moon, you're seeing the same side).
This has a tremendous affect on the temperature. The planet overall is tropical. The low, average and high temperatures at 30 degrees of latitude are 75 degrees, 95 degrees and 115 degrees Farenheit. By comparison, these numbers on Earth would be 60, 80 and 100 degrees. But due to being tide-locked, the side away from the sun (forever nights) is very cold, and the side facing the sun (eternal days) is extremely hot.
Because of this, the residents live in a narrow band of twilight, where temperatures are
actually quite comfortable. Part of the population sees Bloodstar always "setting" in the
west; the other part sees it always "rising" in the east. But it never really sets nor rises.
The planetary population is currently about 168,000 (yes, that small). While there has been much
inter-breeding, about a fourth of these are considered descendants from the original
colonists of about 200 GS years ago (a Galactic Standard year is
about the same as an Earth year. This is probably just coincidence).
HandL has no world government. Most of the smaller communities have virtually no
government at all. Laws are few, and emphasize personal freedom and the individual's responsibility to others. There are virtually no "victimless" crimes. (For more thoughts on this and related philosophies, go Here and while there especially look at Philosophy for the 21st Century.)
The two major City States are Linden and HeathHome. Like the planet itself, these are named after the planet's developers and founders, Heath and Linden (H and L = HandL).
There are a variety of family structures and social and sexual practices. Nudism is common. More details are coming eventually. (An alien enemy hid my notes!)
Please stop in again.
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