Kahtlusalune

Kahtlusalune is a fictional natural satellite that appears in speculative fiction and worldbuilding materials describing the Kahtlus system. The name is formed from Kahtlu, the host planet's designation in many depictions, combined with lune, the Latin word for moon.

In most narratives, Kahtlusalune is the inner moon of the gas giant Kahtlus, orbiting at a close distance and often in a resonant relation with outer moons. The body is described as several hundred kilometers in diameter, irregularly shaped and tidally locked to Kahtlus. Its surface comprises water ice with patches of crystalline minerals; cryovolcanic activity and transient plumes are commonly depicted, alongside evidence for a subsurface ocean beneath a brittle ice shell.

Detection and exploration within the fiction usually involve infrared spectroscopy and transit-like signals observed by distant observers, followed by a series of missions such as Kaht-1 and Kaht-2 in various timelines. These exploits yield signatures of volatiles, crystalline materials, and hints of habitable conditions beneath the ice, though no consensus is reached in every work.

Kahtlusalune features in cultural and narrative contexts as a setting for early human or robotic exploration, testing grounds for crustal geology models, and a potential niche for microbial life in heated plumes. Its fictional status makes it a popular reference point in discussions of tidal heating and icy moon geology.

Note: Kahtlusalune is not a real astronomical object; the name is used in works of fiction and worldbuilding and does not correspond to an observed body.