Space Development Consortium
    
...for the future!

 

Our Stellar System

The Sun of Scandia's solar system is called many things in many different languages; it has no univresally recognised name, even among astronomers. It is a fairly ordinary star, a medium shade of yellow-orange. It is about three billion years old, according to most estimates. It is about 650,000 times the size of Scandia, and has a radius of approximately 1,200,000 km.

 

 

Tora, a rock planet, is the innermost planet of the Scandian solar system, and also the smallest. It was named by Kanjiri, and means Tiger, a common feature of their mythology. It is a very barren planet, and is highly irradiated, since its radiation-shielding atmosphere would have been torn away by the sun's solar wind (photons, electrons, and ions emitted by the sun in a constant stream). Since it has no atmosphere to contain the immence heat it acquires during the day, the nightime temperatures are as low as the daytime temperatures are high. It has no satellites. It is about two fifths the size of Scandia.
Colossus is the second planet of the solar system. Its name comes from the Central Republic. It is a rock planet, but unlike Tora, has an atmosphere. Colossus's atmosphere is very thick, containing many toxic gases in a layer that permanently covers the surface. This layer admits heat to the surface, but does not release it, a perfect example of the so-called greenhouse effect. Colossus is even hotter than Tora, despite being further from the sun. It is about two thirds the size of Scandia.
Lithos is the third planet from the sun. It is about the same size as Scandia, but has only a very thin atmosphere, not enough for life. It is a dark greyish colour. Its name comes from Thesia, where Lithos was the name of a major god. It has three moons, but each of these is less than 20km in diameter and irregularly shaped, making astronomers suspect that they are captured asteriods.
Scandia is the planet we all live on. It has one large moon.
Aeris, named after one of the main goddesses of the mythology of Andrea, is the fifth planet of the solar system. It is about three quarters of Scandia's size, and is rock. Due to the iron oxides present within its soil, it has a slightly reddish tinge. It has one moon, probably a captured asteroid like those of Lithos. If it does have an atmosphere, which is possible, it is very thin.
Ausculta is the first of the gaseous planets. Like all gas giants, Ausculta is far larger than any of the rocky worlds. Its colour is a deep blue-green, and is a very calm and slow world. It is believed that in its core, there might be sufficient pressure to create a solid from its gases, but this has never been proved. It has a total of sixteen moons, at present count. The second-to-largest of these is of interest due to speculaion that its surface is not rock but ice, and that a vast ice-locked ocean lies beneath it. Some astronomers believe that this would be the place to look for life in the solar system, even if it is only bacteria or algae. Ausculta's name comes from the ancient scriptures that guide the monastaries of Maristerranea.
Elsciia is the largest planet in the solar system, marginally larger than Ausculta. It is an orange-red colour, and is encircled by a large number of rings, believed to be particles of dust and ice. It is a more turbulent world than Ausculta, most noticable in the large storm perpetually raging near its southern pole. Its consistancy is roughly the same as that of Asculta. It has 27 known moons. Elsciia is named after a famous battle in Katrinkan history.
Wöten, the eighth planet, is named after a god from Reichstadt, is the third largest gas planet. It is a yellowish colour, and like Elsciia, is surrounded by rigns, more noticeable than Elsciia's despite its smaller size. The gases that make it up are not yet conclusively identified, although they are probably the same as the previous two gas planets. At last count, it has 12 moons.
Kenkaria is named after the principal deity of the Kenkarian religion of the Larenian Empire, the goddess Kenkaria. It is a relatively small planet for a gas giant, only about half the size of Elsciia. Its colour is a sort of blue-purple, and it appears to be a relatively settled planet. It has only one moon that astronomers can detect, and has very faint rings too thin to see without sophisticated instruments.
Gelidia is the outermost planet of the Scandian solar system, so distant that some astronomers do not consider it a part of the system at all. Due to its distance, it must be extremely cold, hense its name, derived from the Valanian word for cold. Very little is known about this planet. It is believed to be rocky.

 

 
  (c) 2002 Andrew Gray