ABSTRACT The largest object in the asteroid belt GEOLOGY A hot and dusty world with a very thin atmosphere blanketing a landscape of arenic soils and dried Eryngo flower fields. Vivid auroras are generated by a strong magnetic field, which imbues the horizon with a lavender tint. Geological explorations suggest surface water existed here for a lengthy time period, forming ancient river valley networks, deltas and lake beds, as well as rocks and minerals that could only have formed in liquid water. CLIMATE The climate is hot and dry. Temperatures vary from 70 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius. LIFE FORMS The Eryngo flower, now completely dried out, is the only tangible evidence of past life. Today, the environment is not conducive to supporting life or vegetation as we know it. The temperatures, pressures and materials that characterize this space are most likely too hot and volatile for organisms to adapt to. SAMPLES Eeryngos flowers, ochre crystalline minerals