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Asterra Star System

From TCH Archive
Revision as of 23:46, 25 January 2026 by Willco (talk | contribs)

Asterra Star System

    • Primary Star: Asterra
    • Stellar Type: G-type main sequence (cool yellow)
    • Mass: 0.93 Sol
    • Luminosity: 0.78 Sol
    • Radius: 0.95 Sol
    • Estimated Age: ~7.1 billion years
    • Stellar Activity: Low flare rate
    • Habitable Zone: 0.62โ€“0.74 AU

The Asterra star system is dynamically stable and long-settled.

Most permanent infrastructure predates the loss of Ytharia and was designed for extended autonomous operation.

System Scale

  • Inner system boundary: ~0.1 AU
  • Primary asteroid belts: 2.4 AU and 6.8 AU
  • Outer planetary boundary (Helior): ~38 AU
  • Effective heliopause influence: ~95 AU

Traffic followed fixed corridors enforced by orbital control infrastructure.

Planetary Order

1. Keth

    • Type: Rocky (terrestrial)
    • Orbital Radius: 0.21 AU
    • Orbital Period: 41 standard days
    • Rotation: Tidally locked
    • Mass: 0.62 Earth
    • Surface Gravity: 0.78 g
    • Atmosphere: ~0.2 bar, volatile-poor
    • Mean Dayside Temperature: ~620 K
    • Mean Nightside Temperature: ~190 K
    • Moons: None

Keth exhibits permanent hemispheric contrast.

The dayside is exposed to continuous stellar radiation.

The nightside remains cold and shielded.

Keth Mining Operations

Mining activity was restricted to the nightside.

  • Operational depth: 300โ€“1200 m
  • Facilities: Subsurface, hardened
  • Automation level: High
  • Permanent staffing (peak): <400 system-wide
  • Power: Orbital solar collectors and compact reactors

Keth was never intended for habitation and functioned solely as an inner-system industrial node.

2. Ytharia

    • Type: Rocky (ocean-dominated terrestrial)
    • Orbital Radius: 0.68 AU
    • Orbital Period: 286 standard days
    • Axial Tilt: 18.4ยฐ
    • Mass: 1.08 Earth
    • Surface Gravity: 1.02 g
    • Surface Water Coverage: ~72%
    • Mean Surface Temperature: ~284 K
    • Atmosphere: ~1.4 bar, moisture-rich
    • Moons: Two

Ytharia was the only planet in the Asterra system known to support complex native life.

Ytharia Orbital Station

A major orbital station operated in high orbit.

  • Orbital altitude: ~42,000 km
  • Primary ring diameter: ~11 km
  • Permanent population (pre-loss): ~180,000
  • Berths: ~10 capital-class vessels

The station functioned as the primary spaceport, customs hub, manufacturing center, and traffic control node for the system.

Moons of Ytharia

Elaris

    • Classification: Major moon
    • Radius: ~1,720 km
    • Mass: 0.94 Luna
    • Orbital Distance: ~410,000 km
    • Orbital Period: 34.6 days

Elaris governed Ythariaโ€™s primary tidal cycles and stabilized axial tilt.

Elaris Lunar Base
  • Population capacity: ~25,000
  • Launch mass throughput: ~4.2 million tons per year
  • Primary functions:
 * Deep-space observation
 * Orbital traffic support
 * System monitoring

Low seismic activity enabled long-duration operations and sensitive instrumentation.

Tirien

    • Classification: Minor moon
    • Radius: ~720 km
    • Orbital Distance: ~610,000 km
    • Orbital Period: 69.2 days
    • Orbital Resonance: 2:1 with Elaris
    • Inclination: 3.1ยฐ

From Ythariaโ€™s surface, Tirien was frequently occluded by Elaris and visible only during specific alignments.

3. Vael

    • Type: Gas giant
    • Orbital Radius: 3.1 AU
    • Orbital Period: 5.4 years
    • Mass: 1.7 Jupiter
    • Magnetosphere Radius: ~9 million km
    • Moons: 40+ confirmed

Vaelโ€™s magnetosphere deflected a significant fraction of cometary and interstellar debris, contributing to inner-system stability.

4. Orthis

    • Type: Gas giant
    • Orbital Radius: 7.6 AU
    • Orbital Period: 20.9 years
    • Mass: 1.2 Jupiter
    • Ring Radius: ~140,000 km
    • Moons: 30+

Several moons show evidence of subsurface oceans or cryovolcanic activity.

Orthis Orbital Station

  • Orbital altitude: ~1.8 million km
  • Population (peak): ~95,000
  • Annual material throughput: ~120 million tons

The station served as the primary logistical hub for asteroid and moon mining operations in the middle system.

5. Ceryn

    • Type: Gas giant
    • Orbital Radius: 14.2 AU
    • Orbital Period: 53.6 years
    • Mass: 0.7 Jupiter
    • Moons: (45+) Irregular and partially captured

Orbital characteristics indicate major disruption approximately 1.3 billion years ago.

6. Helior

    • Type: Gas giant
    • Orbital Radius: 38 AU
    • Orbital Period: ~235 years
    • Mass: 0.4 Jupiter
    • Moons: (10+) Sparse, frozen satellites

Helior marks the outer boundary of significant planetary mass in the system.

---

7. Nysa

    • Type: Rocky (cold terrestrial)
    • Orbital Radius: 62 AU
    • Orbital Period: ~490 years
    • Mass: 0.31 Earth
    • Surface Gravity: 0.55 g
    • Atmosphere: <0.1 bar, frozen trace gases
    • Mean Surface Temperature: ~35 K
    • Moons: None

The lack of satellites is attributed to early orbital instability and gravitational interference from outer gas giants.

Canon Status

The Asterra system is no longer has any signs of life.

The infrastructure remains inactive with no power, supply, and personnel.

Ytharia ones was the systemโ€™s historical and cultural origin point. Now its no more then inhospitable and a war-torn planet.