- For the mech adversaries in Mass Effect 2, see LOKI Mech.
Location: Milky Way / Exodus Cluster / Asgard System / Fourth planet
Description[]
Mass Effect[]
Loki is a small terrestrial world with little to recommend it. One hemisphere is largely covered by an ice cap, and the other by craggy basaltic highlands. The rough, varied terrain suggests an ancient cataclysm caused significant damage to the planet. This is seemingly reinforced by its unusually elliptical orbit, which reaches 6.5 AU at perigee and 7.1 AU at apogee.
Penetrating scans of Loki's ice cap reveal a network of crisscrossing subterranean tunnels. Because some of the tunnels were surprisingly regular in shape and size, early expeditions looked for signs of excavation. It was concluded they formed by natural processes.
Loki's thin atmosphere is mostly composed of krypton and xenon. When it approaches perigee, frozen sulphur trioxides and dioxides can evaporate into clouds on the hemisphere facing Asgard.
Mass Effect 3[]
A small terrestrial world with little to recommend it, Loki's one hemisphere is largely covered by ice, and the other by craggy, basaltic highlands. The rough, varied terrain suggests an ancient cataclysm caused significant damage to the planet. Reaching 6.5 AU at perigee and 7.1 AU at apogee, Loki's unusual elliptical orbit reinforces this hypothesis.
Beneath Loki's ice cap runs a naturally formed network of subterranean tunnels. These may have proven useful to Alliance forces in retreat. Nevertheless, any organics hidden here remain in peril, as Loki's atmosphere is inhospitable and Reaper scanning technology is efficient.
Search and Rescue[]
- Main article: Search and Rescue
Orbital Parameters[]
Loki's major axis is 6.5+7.1 = 13.6 AU; therefore, semimajor axis is 6.8 AU. Semimajor axis is what is used for Kepler's Third Law.
The linear eccentricity is the distance from the focus to the centre of the ellipse: 0.3 AU. Eccentricity is the linear eccentricity divided by the semimajor axis: 0.3/6.8=0.044. Loki's eccentricity is slightly under half that of Mars.
Trivia[]
- In Norse mythology, Loki is the god of mischief.