Kimberley is the fourth planet circling the Star Phoebus.
On arrival at Kimberley, the `Lemming' shared orbit of Kimberley with two natural satellites. One was the golden hued Aura. Its colour was not due to any gold deposits, as the name would suggest, but rather to the yellow colour of much of the native flora. It has a thin, breathable atmosphere, but extended work without breathing equipment is not possible. The second, Aqua, though smaller, is denser. It is covered entirely by water and has an atmosphere consisting of Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide and traces of Oxygen. The water teems with micro organisms of two types, those which consume CO2 and release Oxygen, and those which consume the first type and release CO2. The colour of the sea varies seasonally from deep blue to aquamarine depending on which species is in the ascendancy. This in turn is dependent upon Kimberley's proximity to Phoebus. Both moons share the same North-South orbit over the poles, on opposite sides of Kimberley, rather than around the equatorial region. The orbits are not perfectly aligned with the planet's magnetic poles, which oscillate position slowly over a two thousand orbit cycle.
The first planet, Euryale has a diameter of 800 kilometres, is made up of dense metal bearing ores, and has no atmosphere or moons.
The second planet, Vesta, has a diameter of 6,300 kilometres, and appears to burn in the sky, because of immense iron ore deposits which cover its crust. It has no surface water. The atmosphere consists largely of Nitrogen. It has substantial oxygen, most of which exists in combination with iron as Iron Oxide (rust).
The third planet, Iris, has a diameter of 14,000 kilometres. It has a dense atmosphere consisting mainly of carbon dioxide and water vapour. Surface temperatures exceed 100 degrees centigrade. From time to time, astronomers have observed explosions of colour in the upper atmosphere. These are caused by gem laden meteors and asteroids, which circle Iris, burning up in the atmosphere.
The fourth planet, Kimberley, has a diameter of 11,000 kilometres and a thin Oxygen, Nitrogen atmosphere, capable of sustaining human beings. Solar radiation is higher than on Earth due to the thinner atmosphere. There are five principal land masses, each bearing a name of one of the clans. Aran, though not the largest was the first and is therefore the most densely populated. The oceans are fresh water, most salts being trapped in dense crystalline form and therefore water insoluble.
The fifth planet, Titan, is a gas giant of 230,000 kilometres in diameter. It has fourteen minor satellites.
Three other gas giants complete the Phoebus family. They are Olympus - 192,000km diameter, Asgard - 160,000km diameter, and Hades - 248,000km diameter
