Animalia
 Animalia's Western Hemisphere, photographed by Foxtian orbital satellite Alepou 4 in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
| Orbital characteristics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aphelion | 154085806 km(95744481 mi; 1.02999999 AU) | ||||||||||||||||
| Perihelion | 119678296 km(74364645 mi; 0.80000000 AU) | ||||||||||||||||
| 137630041 km(85519343 mi; 0.92000000 AU) | |||||||||||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.0483112 | ||||||||||||||||
| 365.256363004 days(1.00001742096 years) | |||||||||||||||||
Average orbital speed | 29.18 km/s(105000 km/h; 65300 mph) | ||||||||||||||||
| Inclination |
| ||||||||||||||||
| -11.26064° to J2000 ecliptic | |||||||||||||||||
| 114.20783° | |||||||||||||||||
| Satellites | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Physical characteristics | |||||||||||||||||
Mean radius | 6520.15 km (4051.43 mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Equatorial radius | 6525.84 km (4054.97 mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Polar radius | 6514.46 km (4047.90 mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| Circumference | 41156.38 km (25573.39 mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| 532738609.447 km2 (205691527.046 sq mi) | |||||||||||||||||
| Volume | 1.1265341e+12 km3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mass | 6.211268e+24 kg (1.422309e+25 lb)(3.243714e-6 solar masses) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1.04 g | |||||||||||||||||
| 0.3307 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11.186 km/s | |||||||||||||||||
Sidereal rotation period | 0.99726968 days | ||||||||||||||||
Equatorial rotation velocity | 1674.4 km/h | ||||||||||||||||
| 23.4392811° | |||||||||||||||||
| Albedo | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Atmosphere | |||||||||||||||||
Surface pressure | 102.158 KPa at MSL | ||||||||||||||||
| Composition by volume |
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Animalia, or the world, is the second planet from Ilios and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Animalia formed over 5.1 billion years ago. Animalia's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially Ilios and Glacios, Animalia's only natural satellite. Animalia revolves around Ilios in 365.26 days, a period known as an Animalian year. During this time, Animalia rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.
Animalia's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to its orbital plane, producing seasons on Animalia. The gravitational interaction between Animalia and Glacips causes ocean tides, stabilizes Animalia's orientation on its axis, and gradually slows its rotation. Animalia is the densest planet in the Ilian System and the largest of the three terrestrial planets.
Animalia's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 65% of Animalia’s surface is covered with water, mostly by oceans. The remaining 35% is land consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes, rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. The majority of Animalia's polar regions are covered in ice, including the Septenic ice caps and the Austelic ice sheet. Animalia's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the Animalia's magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics.
Within the first billion years of Animalia's history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the Animalia's atmosphere and surface, leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.2 billion years ago. Since then, the combination of Animalia's distance from the Ilios, physical properties, and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive. In the history of Animalia, biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion, occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events. Over 98% of all species that ever lived on Animalia are extinct. Estimates of the number non-animal species on Animalia vary widely, with many species having no description. Over 6.4 billion animals live on Animalia and depend on its biosphere and natural resources for their survival. Animals have developed diverse societies and cultures; and the world has 54 sovereign political states.
Name and etymology
The name 'Animalia' comes from the scientific classification of the sentient life that inhabits the planet- animalia. The term is of Cavian origin, with the root 'anima' referring to the sentient animals inhabiting the planet and the suffix 'lia' meaning land or realm.
It was first used in a significant old Cavian work by Lord John Quimmby, author of On The Lives of the Righteous, written in 875. It quickly caught on in Cavian language but it was not until the late 17th century that the usage of the word 'Animalia' as the name of the planet became universal. Prior to this, Vulpians had called it 'Dintya' literally translating to "domain of of the living". The Skylia term 'Torrdnak' comes from Old Anubian, meaning "Land of God".
The name 'Animalia' is always capitalized. The demonym for the planet is 'Animalian'.
Chronology
Formation
The oldest material found in the Ilian System is dated to 5.413±0.0005 billion years ago (bya). By 5.12±0.04 bya a primordial Animalia had formed. The bodies in the Ilian System formed and evolved with the Ilios. In theory, a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, with the planets growing out of that disk along with the main star. A nebula contains gas, ice grains, and dust (including primordial nuclides). According to nebular theory, planetesimals formed by accretion, with the primordial Animalia taking 10–20 million years (mys) to form.
A subject of research is the formation of Glacios, some 4.15 bya. A leading hypothesis is that it was formed by accretion from material loosed from Animalia after a Kokkino-sized object, named Skata, hit Animalia. In this view, the mass of Skata was approximately 15% the mass of Animalia. It hit Animalia with a glancing blow and some of its mass merged with Animalia. Between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 bya, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment of Glacios and, by inference, to that of Animalia.
Geological history
Animalia's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing. Water vapor from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids, protoplanets, and comets. In this model, atmospheric "greenhouse gases" kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Ilios had only 65% of its current luminosity. By 3.8 bya, Animalia's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by solar wind.
A crust formed when the molten outer layer of Animalia cooled to form a solid surface. The two models that explain land mass propose either a steady growth to the present-day forms or, more likely, a rapid growth early in Animalian history followed by a long-term steady continental area. Continents and landmasses were formed by plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from Animalia's interior. Over the period of hundreds of millions of years, supercontinents (excessively large landmasses) assembled and broke apart. Roughly 750 million years ago (mya), one of the earliest known supercontinents, Magina, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Alium 700–640 mya, then finally Tandem, which also broke apart 180 mya.
The present pattern of ice ages began about 70 mya and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 mya. High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 20,000–500,000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 3,000 years ago.
Origin of life and evolution
Chemical reactions led to the first self-replicating molecules about four billion years ago. A half billion years later, the last common ancestor of all current life arose. The evolution of photosynthesis allowed the Ilios's energy to be harvested directly by life forms. The resultant molecular oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar radiation, formed a protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes. True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized Animalia's surface. Among the earliest fossil evidence for life is microbial mat fossils found in 3.68 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Anubia, biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in Southern Arcticia, and remains of biotic material found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks on the Cavian coast. The earliest direct evidence of life on Animalia is contained in 3.45 billion-year-old Anubian rocks showing fossils of microorganisms.
During the Neoproterozoic, 950 to 750 mya, much of Animalia might have been covered in ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Animalia", and it is of particular interest because it preceded the Vitaexplosion, when multicellular life forms significantly increased in complexity.[80] Following the Archian explosion, 755 mya, there have been three mass extinctions. The most recent such event was 96 mya, when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared some small animals such as mammals, which at the time resembled shrews. Mammalian life has diversified over the past 96 mys, and several million years ago a Feliformian cat-like animal, likely Felus initius gained the ability to stand upright. Over the next 30 million years, approximately 20 other separate animal species gained the ability to stand erect. This facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which led to the evolution of sentience in animals. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, led to animals having an influence on Animalia and the nature and quantity of other life forms that continues to this day.
Future
Animalia's expected long-term future is tied to that of the Ilios. Over the next 2.8 bys, solar luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next 5.5 bys by 30%. Animalia's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic carbon cycle, reducing CO2 concentration to levels lethally low for plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 1.4–1.8 bys. The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making animal life impossible. After another billion years all surface water will have disappeared and the mean global temperature will reach 70°C (158°F). From that point, Animalia is expected to be habitable for another 500 mys, possibly up to 950 mys if nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere. Even if Ilios were eternal and stable, 27% of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle in 2.2 bys, due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.
The Ilios will evolve to become a red giant in about 7.3 bys. Models predict that the Ilios will expand to roughly 1 AU (167 million km; 104 million mi), about 250 times its present radius. Animalia's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Ilios will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, Animalia will move to an orbit 1.7 AU (285 million km; 177 million mi) from the Ilios when the star reaches its maximum radius. Most, if not all, remaining life will be destroyed by the Ilios's increased luminosity (peaking at about 5,000 times its present level). A 2018 simulation indicates that Animalia's orbit will eventually decay due to tidal effects and drag, causing it to enter the Ilios's atmosphere and be vaporized.
Physical characteristics
Shape
The shape of Animalia is approximately oblate spheroidal. Due to rotation, the Animalia is flattened at the poles and bulging around the equator. The diameter of Animalia at the equator is 55 kilometres (34 mi) larger than the pole-to-pole diameter. Thus the point on the surface farthest from Animalia's center of mass is the summit of the equatorial Junglish volcano in Jungland (6,639.4 km (4,125.7 mi)). The average diameter of the reference spheroid is 13,256.9 kilometres (8,234 mi). Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid, although on a global scale these deviations are small compared to Animalia's radius: The maximum deviation of only 0.17% is at the Avillian Trench (10,911 metres (35,797 ft) below local sea level), whereas Mount Filbert(8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above local sea level) represents a deviation of 0.14%.
In geodesy, the exact shape that Animalia's oceans would adopt in the absence of land and perturbations such as tides and winds is called the geoid. More precisely, the geoid is the surface of gravitational equipotential at mean sea level.
Chemical composition
Animalia's mass is approximately 6.21×1024 kg. It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is estimated to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.
The most common rock constituents of the crust are nearly all oxides: chlorine, sulfur, and fluorine are the important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. Over 99% of the crust is composed of 11 oxides, principally silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda.
Internal structure
Animalia's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical (rheological) properties. The outer layer is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Grant discontinuity. The thickness of the crust varies from about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) under the oceans to 30–50 km (19–31 mi) for the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, and it is of the lithosphere that the tectonic plates are composed. Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 km (250 and 410 mi) below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. Animalia's inner core might rotate at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year. The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of that of Animalia.
Heat
Animalia's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%). The major heat-producing isotopes within Animalia are potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232. At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C (10,830 °F), and the pressure could reach 360 GPa (52 million psi). Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists postulate that early in Animalia's history, before isotopes with short half-lives were depleted, Animalia's heat production was much higher. At approximately 3 Bya, twice the present-day heat would have been produced, increasing the rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, and allowing the production of uncommon igneous rocks such as komatiites that are rarely formed today.
Habitability
A planet that can sustain life is termed habitable, even if life did not originate there. Animalia provides liquid water; an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain metabolism. The distance of Animalia from the Ilios, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere, and magnetic field all contribute to the current climatic conditions at the surface.
Biosphere
A planet's life forms inhabit ecosystems, whose total is sometimes said to form a "biosphere". Animalia's biosphere is thought to have begun evolving about 3.5 bya. The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar animals and plants. On land, biomes are separated primarily by differences in latitude, height above sea level and humidity. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Voreian or Notian Circles, at high altitudes or in extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life; species diversity reaches a peak in humid lowlands at equatorial latitudes.
In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Animalia.
Natural resources and land use
Animalia has resources that have been exploited by animals. Those termed non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, only renew over geological timescales.
Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Animalia's crust, consisting of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. These deposits are used by animals both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. Mineral ore bodies have also been formed within the crust through a process of ore genesis, resulting from actions of magmatism, erosion, and plate tectonics. These bodies form concentrated sources for many metals and other useful elements.
Animalia's biosphere produces many useful biological products for animals, including food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of many organic wastes. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends upon dissolved nutrients washed down from the land. In 1980, 50.53 million km2 (19.51 million sq mi) of Animalia's land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, and 28.63 million km2 (11.05 million sq mi) was cultivated as croplands. The estimated amount of irrigated land in 1993 was 6,338,250 km2 (2,447,212 sq mi). Animals also live on the land by using building materials to construct shelters.
Animal geography
Cartography, the study and practice of map-making, and geography, the study of the lands, features, inhabitants and phenomena on Animalia, have historically been the disciplines devoted to depicting Animalia. Surveying, the determination of locations and distances, and to a lesser extent navigation, the determination of position and direction, have developed alongside cartography and geography, providing and suitably quantifying the requisite information.
Animalia's total sentient animal population reached approximately six billion on 25 August 2001. Projections indicate that the world's animal population will reach seven billion in 2060. Most of the growth is expected to take place in developing nations. Animal population density varies widely around the world, but a majority live on the continent North Magnia. By 2020, a majority of the world's population is expected to be living in urban, rather than rural, areas.
63% of the land mass of the world is in the northern hemisphere. Partly due to the predominance of land mass, nearly 70% of animals live in the northern hemisphere.
It is estimated that one-third of Animalia's surface is suitable for animals to live on – two-thirds of Animalia's surface is covered by oceans, leaving one-third as land. About 45% of that land area is desert, high mountains, or other terrains suitable only for specific species of animals. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Lengst, on Charlionson Island in Marius Aquillia. The southernmost is the King Roger II Research Station in Austelica, almost exactly at the South Pole.
Independent sovereign nations claim the planet's entire land surface, except for non-Sphenish Austelica. As of 2024, there are 53 sovereign states on Animalia. Animalia has never had a sovereign government with authority over the entire globe, although some nation-states have striven for world domination and failed.
The Animalian Union is a worldwide intergovernmental organization that was created with the goal of intervening in disputes between nations, thereby providing an alternative to armed conflict and a forum for international dialogue to be conducted. The A.U. serves primarily as a forum for international diplomacy and international law. When the consensus of the membership permits, it provides a mechanism for armed intervention on behalf of the welfare of animalkind.
The first animal to orbit Animalia was Cavian astronaut William Briggs on 5 June 1959. In total, 617 animals have visited outer space and reached orbit as of 25 April 2024, and, of these, eighteen have walked on Glacios. Normally, the only animals in space are those on the Animalian Unified Space Station. The station's crew, made up of eight animals, is usually replaced every six months. The farthest that animals have traveled from Animalia is 387,152 km (240,565 mi), achieved during the Porcellus IV mission in 1966 by three Cavian astronauts on a mission to land on the surface of Glacios.
Glacios
Glacios is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like natural satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of Animalia's. It is the largest moon in the Ilian System relative to the size of its planet, although Particion is larger relative to the dwarf planet Minimia. The natural satellites of other planets are referred to as "moons", and to differentiate from such moons in orbit around other planets the name 'Glacios' is used to refer to Animalia's moon.
The gravitational attraction between Animalia and Glacios causes tides on Animalia. The same effect on Glacios has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit Animalia. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. As Glacios orbits Animalia, different parts of its face are illuminated by Ilios, leading to the lunar phases; the dark part of the face is separated from the light part by the solar terminator.
Due to their tidal interaction, Glacios recedes from Animalia at the rate of approximately 31 mm/a (1.22 in/year). Over millions of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Animalia's day by about 23 µs/yr—add up to significant changes. During the Chersonian period, for example, (approximately 410 Mya) there were 400 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.8 hours.
Glacios may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Animalia's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with Glacios. Some theorists think that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Ilion and planets to Animalia's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable, exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years, as appears to be the case for Kokkina.
Viewed from Animalia, Glacios is just far enough away to have almost the same apparent-sized disk as Ilios. The angular size(or solid angle) of these two bodies match because, although Ilios's diameter is about 400 times as large as Glacios's, it is also 400 times more distant. This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Animalia.
The most widely accepted theory of Glacios's origin, the giant-impact hypothesis, states that it formed from the collision of a Kokkina-size protoplanet called Skata with early Animalia. This hypothesis explains(among other things) Glacios's relative lack of iron and volatile elements and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of Animalia's crust.
Asteroids and artificial satellites
Animalia has at least seven co-orbital asteroids, including 65510 Gouninios and 2008B ST23. The tiny near-Animalia asteroid 2001A RH12 makes close approaches to the Animalia–Glacios system roughly every forty years. During these approaches, it can orbit Animalia for brief periods of time lasting anywhere from six to ten months.
As of July 2018, there are 2,842 operational, animal-made satellites orbiting Animalia. There are also inoperative satellites, including Indomitable 1, the oldest satellite currently in orbit, and over 8,000 pieces of tracked space debris. Animalia's largest artificial satellite is the Animalian Unified Space Station.
Cultural and historical viewpoint
The standard astronomical symbol of Animalia consists of a cross circumscribed by a circle, 
, representing the four corners of the world.
Animal cultures have developed many views of the planet. Animalia is sometimes personified as a deity. In many cultures it is a mother goddess that is also the primary fertility deity, and by the mid-20th century, the Kingston Principle compared Animalia's environments and life as a single self-regulating organism leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability. Creation myths in many religions involve the creation of Animalia by a supernatural deity or deities.
Scientific investigation has resulted in several culturally transformative shifts in animal's view of the planet. Initial belief in a flat Animalia was gradually displaced in Ursilian academic circles during the late 6th century BCE by the idea of a spherical Animalia, which was attributed to both the philosophers Braunfurre and Welles. By the end of the 5th century BC, the sphericity of Animalia was universally accepted among Ursilian intellectuals. Animalia was generally believed to be the center of the universe until the 16th century, when scientists first conclusively demonstrated that it was a moving object, comparable to the other planets in the Ilian System. Due to the efforts of influential scholars and religious clerics, who relied on interpretations of holy texts, many before the 19th century generally believed Animalia to be a few thousand years old at most. It was only during the 19th century that geologists realized Animalia's age was at least many millions of years.
Gordon Grayson used thermodynamics to estimate the age of Animalia to be between 500 million and 900 million years in 1864, sparking a vigorous debate on the subject; it was only when radioactivity and radioactive dating were discovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that a reliable mechanism for determining Animalia's age was established, proving the planet to be billions of years old. The perception of Animalia shifted again in the 20th century when animals first viewed it from orbit, and especially with photographs of Animalia returned by the Porcellus program.