The Meteorology of Kronos  

Planet Kronos is a tepid and hospitable planet that exhibits a thick atmosphere that is composed of a perfect combination of gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon and traces of carbon dioxide and methane to name a few gases.  These gases help orchestrate a variety of climates and seasons which rival Earth.  Since Kronos rotates every forty two hours on its axis, our daylight totals twenty one hours in length making it an ideal planet for true daylight savings time while the nights on Kronos seem endless, also lasting twenty one hours.  As a result, our seasons are equally balanced in length and last twice as long as those on planet Earth since the length of each year on Kronos is the equivalent of 638.75 Earth days, indeed making Kronos the ideal planet for future colonization.

Sound pretty good so far, but not certain if Kronos is the right planet for you?  You may be asking yourself what the incoming radiation absorption is on Kronos when compared with Earth.  Rest assured, Kronos has a healthy and inviting albedo, and like on Earth it varies around our planet too.  Our ice and snow found mostly on Robea and the northern parts of Melea have a high albedo because they reflect most of the radiation back away from our planet thereby protecting everything and everyone else.  Likewise, our greener areas such as our forests have an albedo of about 6%, which means that they absorb much of the incoming radiation.  However, due to our generous snow and fluffy clouds, our albedo is high making Kronos a safe place to live, grow and prosper.

Our planet is covered by 80% water which makes Kronos habitable and life sustaining with a bounty of marine resources for food.  The ocean water allows Kronos to maintain stable temperatures which is made possible by the evaporation of ocean water into clouds.  The clouds serve as conduits for both rain and snowfall which are essential to life.  Although most of the surface of our planet is covered with ocean and our land ratio to ocean is small, the saline content of our oceans is a bit more concentrated than that which is found in Earth's oceans.  However there is no lack of fresh water which can be found in our various lakes and ground water.  In addition, the ocean water currents found south of Melea are warm in temperature and are propelled by currents near the equator which behave similarly to the gulf ocean stream found on Earth.  These warm currents flow in a northern direction and maintain the warm coastal waters for the continents of Melea, Sulea and southern Robea.

Global Climate                    Melea, our largest continent offers the most variety in climate.  The stable heat and humidity allows trees and plants to grow year round in various climate zones. Our second continent, Robea, lies north of the equator making it a very cold and frigid continent which undoubtedly will lure the extreme athletes as well as the romantics at heart.  Sulea, our third continent lies nearest the equator, giving it a climate that is hot, exotic and tempting to those who seek adventure in the sand.   Rainfall   Rainfall on Kronos varies with each continent and is concentrated on the mid to northern portions of Melea and the Eastern portions of Sulea.  The mountain ranges on Melea receive an average of 100 inches of rain per year in contrast to those located on Robea which receive their moisture in snowfall.  The deserts of southwest Melea and Midrange Sulea receive very little rain as a direct result of the absorption of descending water particles from the higher elevations.  As the cold flows downhill it becomes warmer, picking up water vapor rather than releasing it, so there is little precipitation.                                                                    Temperatures Kronos displays a variety of seasons and temperatures which can range from an extremely low temperature of -132 to a high of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Our seasons are directly influenced by our revolution around our Sun and our rotation on our axis which enable Kronos to host a variety of flora and fauna.   The first set of temperature maps below illustrate the average Winter seasons on the three continents of Melea, Robea and Sulea.  This second set of temperature maps illustrate the Summer seasons on the three continents of Melea, Robea and Sulea.  Although the deserts of Kronos can be extremely hot, the evenings do cool down by ten to twenty degrees. Return to Table of Contents Page by Melissa Esparza