Persephone III

Persephone III
Class:	M
Type:	Planet
Status:	Habitable (2259)
Satellite(s):	None
Native Species:	Deleb
Location:	Persephone system Alpha Quadrant

Persephone III was the inhabited third planet in the Persephone system. A class M world with an arid environment, it hosted plant and animal life in both hemispheres and was the homeworld of the pre-warp Deleb species. (SNW: "Children of the Comet")

Astronomical data

Planetary data for Persephone III

Persephone III was located at coordinates 3876.5452 in the Alpha Quadrant. It had an orbital period of 24.1 hours and a revolution period of 391 solar days. Its mass was estimated at 5.39440 e24×10²⁴ kilograms and its age at 4.345 billion solar years. Its atmosphere was composed of 79% molecular nitrogen, 19% molecular oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.7% carbon dioxide, and 0.2% water vapor, with trace amounts of methane, boron, bromine, and tungsten. The mean surface temperature was 15.3 degrees Celsius (59.54 F). (SNW: "Children of the Comet")

History

The Federation had surveyed Persephone III several times, and recorded the presence of the Deleb.

In 2259, the comet C/2260-Quentin was on course to collide with Persephone III, which would have destroyed all life on the planet. While attempting to divert the comet, the USS Enterprise discovered that it housed an enormous alien structure and was venerated as the divine being M'hanit by the Shepherd race. With the Shepherds proscribing any direct inference with the comet, the Enterprise crew devised a means to covertly deploy the shuttlecraft Galileo to induce sublimation on the comet, pushing it into a new trajectory that averted the impact.

As M'hanit passed Persephone III, a large amount of water vapor from its surface entered the planetary atmosphere and permanently altered its composition. With increased rainfall, the planet became more amenable to plant growth and agriculture; thus could M'hanit be viewed to have created life, as described by Shepherd beliefs. Data sent by M'hanit to the Enterprise (hours earlier) indicated that this outcome was always its intent, though the means by which it foresaw the actions of the Enterprise crew remained a mystery. (SNW: "Children of the Comet")