NariKat
commented
5 years ago Sirius Poject: Star System
Galaxy: Milky Way
System: Elunyan System
Star: Elunya Distance from Solar System: 317 Light Years (97.2 Parsec) Radius: 582312 Km. Surface Temperature: 4612C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Elunya is a red dwarf with an estimated formation around 5.1 billion years ago. Although dubbed "red dwarf", its colour is really a hue of orange which is result of its cooler temperature compared to the Sun, which gives the latter its characteristic yellow hue instead (or bright white, if observed from space). Another consequence of being cooler than the Sun, and also smaller, is that the rate at which it consumes hydrogen in its unending fusion cycle to fuel its roaring core is lower, which will allow Elunya to extend its lifespan vastly beyond that of Earth's local star. An estimation is that Elunya has yet about twelve billion years of life ahead of itself before it begins to lack the hydrogen necessary to maintain its hydrostatic equilibrium, causing it to swell into a red giant, likely annihilating any hope for life within its system at that point. Afterwards, Elunya will shrink back to a small and radiant white dwarf, losing all gravitational pull over any celestial bodies in its vicinity.
Elunya had been hidden from Earth's detecting devices due to travelling along and directly behind the Orion Nebula. Eventually the state-of-the-art Hubble Space Telescope allowed for it to be spotted, and once the discovery was made, research about it was fast and furious. Only a few decades after, it was esteemed that Elunya and its collection of planets and satellites would be the prime candidate for hosting the future of the human species.
Planet A: Lynnac Distance from Elunya: 0.4 AU. Orbital Cycle: 103,2 days. Radius: 9059 Km. Surface Temperature: 191C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Lynnac appears to be a fiery planet, its surface running with rivers of lava in a constant cycle of molten rock cooling off and erupting again. The atmosphere is heavy in sulfur and helium, non-breathable and definitely not survivable by human beings, unless heavily protected from the environment, as some regions of its vast surface can reach up to 800C. It is very unlikely that any kind of life thrives in this planet, neither animal nor plant.
Planet B: Aluvia Distance from Elunya: 0.7 AU Orbital Cycle: 191 days Radius: 7922 Km. Surface Temperature: 45C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Although this planet is technically within the goldilocks habitable zone and the scanner's results showed that Aluvia is most likely an ocean planet, with over 95% of its surface covered by water, it is also a very inhospitable planet to most life as we know it. Its carbon dioxide and argon atmosphere is non-breathable and the ocean's daylight temperatures can reach boiling point during summer season. However, it is possible that this planet hosts life deep within its waters, where temperatures are generally cooler and radiation is heavily dampened.
Planet C: Narimea Distance from Elunya: 0.8 AU Orbital Cycle: 299 days Radius: 5018 Km. Surface Temperature: 22C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Narimea is a lush and tropical world. Being Project Sirius' main objective, this planet is well placed within the goldilocks zone of Elunya. With humid, warm climates and conditions akin to those in Earth, its surface is well supplied with wildlife both of animal and plant origin. The scanners did not show any symptoms of pollution or industrialisation, which leads to believe that no advanced forms of intelligent life inhabit it. Narimean's atmospheric pressure is slightly higher than Earth (1029 mb), and its gravity slightly lower (0.96G). The atmosphere is very rich in oxygen and hydrogen, with smaller components of nitrogen and helium. About thirty percent of the surface is covered by water meaning the ocean mass is much lower than Earth, but as counterpoint rivers are much more numerous and wider in Narimea than they are in mankind's home planet.
Planet D: Aurimar Distance from Elunya: 1.9 AU Orbital Cycle: 2.4 years Radius: 4220 Km Surface Temperature: -31C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Aurimar's surface is mostly composed of rocky mountains rich in iron, with layers of much less common and more precious metals. The surface appears to be mostly frozen, with possibly small pockets of liquid water scattered across its scars, caused by numerous impacts from meteors. There are indications that plant-like wildlife may exist underneath the frozen crust of this planet, although its carbon dioxide and hydrogen atmosphere would make it difficult to colonise by humans.
Asteroid Belt: Debicky's Belt Distance from Elunya: 2.4 AU Width: 0.12 AU
Pre-voyage Scanner: This asteroid belt is almost exclusively formed by huge rocks, at times of the size of Earth's own moon. The scanner has revealed that many of these rocks are rich in various types of metal, some of them even entirely composed by metal alone. Iron, titanium, cobalt, gold and osmium are common among these, but from the scanner data, there are reasons to believe that there could be even rarer metals.
Planet E: Alysea & Lairea Distance from Elunya: 4.3 AU Orbital Cycle: 8.2 Years Radius: 14284 Km for Alysea, 5374 Km for Lairea Surface Temperature: 26C for Alysea, 35C for Lairea
Pre-Voyage Scanner: Alysae is rich in gold, aluminium and other rarer metals, in lesser number, deposited in layers across and under its rocky crust. Unfortunately, its atmosphere is heavily poisoned with sulfur, which makes it non-breathable and toxic to skin contact. Even more hazardous are the common and constant acid rains that beat against Alysea's surface with little interruption. It is very likely that the liquid surfaces that spot Alysea are almost entirely acidic seas and lakes. Orbiting around Alysea is Lairea. Although technically a moon, its size and geothermal activity, as well as having its own atmosphere make this satellite very much planet-worthy. Its surface is mostly composed by sulfur and iron, and electric storms rage through its surface almost perpetually. The possibility of life in this environment is somewhat higher than it is in Alysea, although still highly unlikely. It would take all kinds of advanced equipment for a human to even trek its surface, and that with the ever present risk of being lightning-struck into thin stellar dust.
Planet F: Sophonias Distance from Elunya: 9.3 AU Orbital Cycle: 24.8 Years Radius: 52200 Km Surface Temperature: 145C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: This is a gas giant made almost entirely of hydrogen, with a small portion of helium and nitrogen. This planet has no effective surface, as it is formed by layers upon layers of gases that pile downwards onto each other. The first "solid" ground to be found would be its core, composed almost entirely of metallic hydrogen, with a mass about a dozen times greater than Narimea. The planet is really a miniature star that reaches easily over 20000C at its core, but lacks the mass to actually begin the molecular fusion reactions to gain the stellar status. Sophonias counts with several layers of rings formed almost entirely of ice and rock, orbiting endlessly around this colosus, prisoners of its tremendous gravitational pull.
Planet G: Szhayrius Distance from Elunya: 12.7 AU Orbital Cycle: 97.2 Years Radius: 28220 Km. Surface Temperature: -263C
Pre-Voyage Scanner: This planet is covered by an ocean of liquid helium that reliably boils into gas whenever the temperature rises just slightly. Its distance from Elunya and atmospheric pressure make it highly inhospitable and most certainly devoid of life. It is very likely that this planet has several satellites that benefit from the gravitational warming of Szhayrius, but Earth's scanners could not detect them. If this was the case, these satellites around Szhayrius could gather the appropriate conditions to potentially host life as we know it, but it will require a closer scan to be certain of it.
The world and the story narrative, how it all fits together, the size and shape of the map, the location of settlements ...