Diomedes

Diomedes; known as Ikt'hanis to the natives; is a terrestrial planet about twice the diameter of Earth, with almost four times the surface area. It orbits a single sun and is orbited by two small moons.

The Diomedan sun is smaller and redder than Sol, and since the planet is located at about the same orbital distance as Earth, its average temperature is colder. Its rotation period is about 12.5 hours, and its year lasts 782 Diomedan days. It has an axial tilt of almost 90 degrees.

Unlike Earth, Diomedes doesn't seem to have any available supplies of copper or iron, which limits the technology of the natives. The light metals available, such as magnesium, aluminum and beryllium, aren't of much use without the others. Due to the absence of heavier elements, the planet's mass is not actually proportional to what its size may suggest, and as such the gravity is only a tenth higher than Earth's.

The Diomedan atmosphere is much denser than Earth's, however, allowing the man-sized natives to fly on six-meter wings. The atmosphere is 79% neon, with only traces of oxygen and nitrogen, but is still breathable for humans thanks to the increased density.

Life on Diomedes is carbon-based, but uses proteins unfamiliar to life on Earth. Any human who consumes Diomedan food would be dead within ten minutes due to extreme allergic reactions triggered by the foreign proteins.