Astronomy of Qirsyllviar

The Astronomy of Patria is as expansive as that of Earth. Besides several celestial objects observed with the naked eye every day and night, some things were long hidden until discovered by astronomers. Some things, however, can only be seen at certain times of the year or once every several years or decades.

Patria's Orbit
Patria shares its orbit with two moons and a set of rings.

Patria's Rings
Easily observed from the surface, Patria has a set of rings orbiting the equator. These rings, made mostly of rock, ice and dust, have long been believed to be the home of the heavenly gods in many religions.

The rings can be observed clearly on brightly clear sunny days, but can't been seen during cloudy days. The rings can be observed with the naked eye at night, but it's more difficult so most use telescopes. It is also during the night that the components of the rings can be seen more clearly with telescopes.

Vermiculus & Hyacintho
Patria has two moons, Vermiculus (the red moon) and Hyacintho (the blue moon). Named for a demon and an angel who, according to legend/myth, were the fathers of Xyliana and Tallulah respectively. Hyacintho is the more further away of the two and is almost always observed to Vermiculus' right. As such, its phases are a few days behind Vermiculus.

The moons change position relative to each other over the course of the year. During Summer, Virmiculus is viewed "below" Hyacintho, while it is observed "above" Hyacintho during Winter. During Spring and Autumn, the moons are at relatively equal level. On a rare occasion, when their orbits are level, Hyacintho will "catch up" to Virmiculus and be eclipsed by its crimson twin, but this happens roughly once every several hundred years, usually on the occasion of a total solar eclipse.

Because of their unusual orbits, the moons partially eclipse the sun several times a year, but total solar eclipses are rarer then Earth's, and viewed roughly once every few hundred years, but only during Spring or Autumn months, when their orbits are level.

Planets
Over the past several centuries, Patrian astronomers have observed several planets in the night sky.

Known Observed Planets
The observed planets are named for various mythological figures or deities based on how they are observed.
 * Ishtar: Observed as a bright red star. No known moons.
 * Lilithea: Observed as a dark blue star. No known moons.
 * Nosferatu: Observed as a dark purple star. 1 known moon; Grislow.
 * Oberon: Observed as a green star. 1 known moon; Titania.
 * Animus: Observed as a pink star. No known moons.
 * Viviane: Observed as an indigo star. 1 known Moon; Arthur.
 * Xirphran: Observed as a white star. No known Moons.
 * Asranil: Observed as a dark red star. 2 Known moons; Sirquct & Whalrit.

Harmonic Convergence
Harmonic Convergence is a period when the planets converge into an astrological alignment. This happens roughly once every four thousand years, but the precise time is difficult to predict.

Constellations & Stars
Several constellations and prominent stars have been created by various cultures over the past few thousand years. Most are named for various mythological figures or deities based on how they are observed. Some constellations have different names in different cultures.

Prominent Constellations

 * The Dragon: commonly named Eustar in Telmarnian Culture.
 * The Hunter: commonly named Kuron from Elven Culture, and Japiricus in Vampiric Culture.
 * The Serpent: commonly named Sirquct from Telmarnian culture.

Prominent Stars

 * Hothe: The North Star. Named for the Elf God of Wisdom. Part of the Dragon Constellation.

Saityroe's Comet
Saityroe's Comet is an orange, three-tailed, comet that that regularly passes by Patria every 40-46 years, and is observed for approximately ten days. This celestial object was named for Saityroe, an Maritymiri lunaculus from the Atlantian Imperial Family, which coincidentally passed by at the time of his birth.

The comet has long been believed to be a source of pure magic, as every time it passes by, all magic users on Patria have their powers increased one hundred fold. At the same time, the lunaculi also have their powers increased one hundred fold, just like they do during Harmonic Convergence.

The Sun
Patria Orbits a yellow sun informally known by the names of various solar deities from various cultures.

Notes & Trivia

 * Patria is tiled on an axis at the like as Earth, and orbits the sun in an anticlockwise direction and rotates counterclockwise on its northern axis, but that's where the similarities end; Patria's axis is less inclined than earths, and the northern axis points away from the sun at all times. What gives Patria its seasons is the fact that its orbital eccentricity is greatly different from Earth's. With that in mind, all areas of Patria experience the seasons all at the same time. Also, even though Patria's northern axis always points away from the sun, seasons on Patria are roughly equivalent to what we experience on earth, hot summers, cold winters; but because the southern hemisphere always receives more direct sunlight than the north, all seasons felt in the south are warmer than the north. Regardless, because Patria is closer to the sun during summer than winter, temperatures in the north can still reach high levels.
 * Patria's axial tilt is 17.25°, while Earth's is 23.4°; but Patria's northern axis points away from the sun at all times.
 * Patria's orbital eccentricity is 0.075; Earth's is 0.017 (although those are the rough rounded numbers); so Patria experiences the summer solstice at its Perihelion to its sun, while experiencing the winter solstice at its Aphelion.
 * Adding to this, Patria's average velocity is 29.781km/s.
 * These numbers were generated using an orbital simulator from this site.
 * Patria's year is also 7-8 days longer than Earth, without any leap years.
 * Patria's sun is an orange dwarf, a K-type main-sequence star to be precise;
 * This type of star is not as hot as as Earth's, but it still emits enough heat to make Patria habitable.
 * Since Patrian technology is too primitive, closer observation of all these astronomical bodies is extremely difficult; never mind exploration, which is impossible.
 * However, the technology salvaged by Atlantis and Xotil allowed their respective astronomers to get a slightly better look.
 * It is believed by Atlantian Astronomers that the craft that brought the technology they and the Xotil use came from one of the observed planets.
 * Because the orbits of the Patria's moons seem to alternate over the course of the year, the eclipse cycle is even more irregular as Earth's.