Tuesday 26 April 2011

Cascade Failure Sandbox: The Auqlan A System

Here it is, the first article in my new Cascade Failure sandbox series. You'll note that I'm producing entries for individual systems long before I've even designed the sector map. Don't worry, it's deliberate. I'll be able to start constructing the map once I have an idea of how various systems relate to one another - politically, economically, militarily, etc.

Star and planetary information obtained from Star Gen and thereafter modified. The entry on the settled moon of Kut that preceeds it is all me.

More importantly (for me at least) this is my last ever blog article as a single man. As of the 28th, I'll no longer be able to call myself a bachelor.  That same day, the lass I've been calling my missus for the last four years really does get to become my missus.

I'll be back in a few days. Until then, enjoy.

KUT (Terrestrial Moon of Auqlan A-6)
Mass: 0.7 Earth Mass
Surface Gravity: 0.88 G
Surface Pressure: 0.528
Surface temperature 8.3° Celcius (-5.7° C Earth temperature)
Normal Equatorial temperature range



Night

Day
1.0° C
33.8° F
-
15.2° C
59.4° F
Min

Max
-23.6° C
-10.5° F
-
38.5° C
101.4° F

Equatorial radius: 5649.3 Km (0.89 Earth radii)
Density: 5.46 grams/cc (0.99 Earth densities)
Eccentricity of orbit: 0.036
Escape Velocity 9.9 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained 7.4 and above: N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O, Ne, N2, CO...
Axial tilt 22°
Planetary albedo 0.22
Exospheric Temperature: 1187.55° K (-85.45° C Earth temperature)
Length of year: (orbiting planet) 222.85 Earth days 283.81 Local days
Length of day: 18.85 hours
Boiling point of water: 83.4° Celcius/182.1° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage: 69.3%
Cloud cover percentage: 32.2%
Ice cover percentage: 4.3%

GAME TERMS:

Atmosphere: Breathable Mix. Air pressure lower than comfortable human norms

Temperature Range: Temperate. Somewhat colder than that found on earth at equivalent latitudes and elevation.

Biosphere: Chemical and Biological weapon releases into the upper atmosphere during the Great Calamity devestated the imported Terran biosphere. Only limited numbers of sealed biosphere facilities survived the war.Atmospheric pressure is somewhat low. Visitors are advised to wear breathing apparatus until fully acclimitised.

Human survivors have begun to repopulate the biosphere outside these facilities, but occasional construction has on occasion released fresh stores of weaponized bacterial spores into the atmosphere. Limited progress has been made towards developing new plant and animal strains resistant to these toxins although a human vaccination has been developed. Thus the remaining biosphere is very fragile. Ecological diversity remains very limited even inside controlled, sealed-environment conditions.

Surviving animal species are limited to Humans, Dogs, Cats, Goats, Rats and Cattle. Remaining plant species include several types of cereal, wheat, hops, turnips, carrots, beat-root, onions, peppers, grasses, flowering plants and apples. Some terrestrial insect life is also extant.

Population and Tech Level:
As little as 5% of the planetary population survived the Great Calamity, the majority of whom were either military or civic government personnel housed in bunkers or else agricultural scientists and farmers operating out of sealed biospheric environments.

Several hundred small farms and research facilities are scattered across the planet, clustered on the long, equatorial continent of “Myr”. The combined efforts of these facilities continue to feed and clothe the inhabitants of the three main “bunker cities” of Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Tehran. Each bunker city houses approximately 3000 inhabitants. The local farming and research sites provide the bunker cities with food and fresh water and, in return, are provided with manufactured goods and atmosphere scrubbers produced in the re-tooled bunker recycling centres using freshly mined minerals from the expanding corridors.

Hi-Tech items such as computers and modern weapons require difficult, expensive to produce components and are rare outside the cities. Perhaps the populations greatest asset is it's retention of a hi-tech skill base. Although the planetary populations grip on survival is tenuous at best, it is able to produce a small surplus of food and manufactured goods for trade with passing ships at the Tehran space-terminus.

As the only surviving bunker facility with space-port facilities, Tehran remains the “senior partner” of the three. Despite some recent tensions over trade tariffs, the three cities (though ruled by separate military junta's advised by Shi'a religious leaders) exist in a state of peaceful co-operation, despite frequent military posturing by all party's.

Note that none of the three bunker cities have anything approaching inter-planetary flight capability. A few hover-cars and air-cars remain functional, but that is all. The moon is completely dependant on foreign vessels for interplanetary trade but, due to the small amounts of surplus materials available, rarely receives more than one or two visits a year from traders.

Culture:
Settled by a consortium of Shi'a families from the Arabian Peninsular, faith remains a strong cultural bond between the three bunker-cities, who would otherwise be natural competitors. Though previously ruled in accordance with a corporate model, since the Great Calamity the former Myr corporation's security branch took control of each respective bunker. The three surviving cities each maintained a complete comm's black for several years, explaining why these three facilities survived the war where more than a dozen others did not. Contact between all three bunkers was finally established some 22 years ago. Each city has been ruled by it's own military (or "Public Safety") council since the years of silence. The three councils each send a single representative to sit in the ruins of the old Colony Capitol building (the Al Jalali) for six weeks at the beginning of every year, to discuss matters of common interest.

Gulf Arabic is the only language spoken with any frequency. Several settlers (particularly those who work at the space port) are fairly fluent in either English or Mandorin, but their numbers are few. They are reluctant to teach these languages to outsiders or even to other locals. This ensures that a handful of individuals retain a virtual monoploy on off-world trade.

The Sky from Kut:
At any given time either the Gas Giant (primary day) or the distant sun (night) or several moons (twilight) are visible in the sky of Kut. With more than fifteen other moons orbiting the gas giant however, reflective light is persistent. Even during the “night” cycle, light levels rarely fall below what would be considered twilight on earth.

Outside Relations:
Kut is an isolated world on the fringes of known human space. Other than the infrequent arrival of a few trade vessels from nearby worlds and supply ships from the S.S Ascendant Aurora, it has had no off-world contact of note since the Great Calamity.

Imports:
Medical Supplies, Seed Grain, Building Materials, Power Packs, Electronics, Tools

Exports: 
Food. Small quantities of muniitions.

Travel Advisory:
Due to the extreme number of moons and the influence of the gas giant itself, sea travel (or indeed, travel in coastal areas) is to be avoided. Tidal activity is unpredictable at best and suge tides of up to a kilometre in height are not unknown in some coastal areas. Finally, those who insist on sea-travel should be advised that the waterways remain full of biological sludge and waste from the Great Calamity. Engine failure on surface vessles due to clogged intakes is a common hazard.














Auqlan A
6 Planets (size proportional to Sqrt(Radius))


Stellar characteristics
Stellar mass
1.09 solar masses
Stellar luminosity
1.60
Age
4.079 billion years
(2.733 billion left on main sequence)
Habitable ecosphere radius
1.265 AU (1.029 - 1.826 AU)















Planetary Overview
#
Type
Dist.
Mass
Radius
Rock
0.319 AU
0.074 EM
0.423 ER
Rock
0.426 AU
0.205 EM
0.594 ER
Rock
0.665 AU
0.029 EM
0.312 ER
Venusian
0.763 AU
1.044 EM
1.014 ER
Sub-Jovian
1.347 AU
0.019 JM - 5.926 EM
2.806 ER
Jovian
2.617 AU
0.949 JM - 301.811 EM
9.332 ER
















Auqlan A-1 (Wasqah)
Planet type
Rock
Resonant Spin Locked
Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star
4.8E+07 KM
0.319 AU
Mass
4.4E+23Kg
0.1 Earth masses
Surface gravity
402.8 cm/sec2
0.41 Earth gees
Surface pressure
0 millibars
0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature
261.6° Celcius
502.8° Fahrenheit
+247.6° C Earth temperature
+445.6° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range













Night

Day
-162.0° C
-259.5° F
-
479.3° C
894.7° F
Min

Max
-176.8° C
-286.3° F
-
483.3° C
902.0° F
Equatorial radius
2697.7 Km
0.42 Earth radii
Density
5.34 grams/cc
0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.169

Escape Velocity
4.7 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
570.1 and above

Axial tilt
12°

Planetary albedo
0.07

Exospheric Temperature
20050.77° K
+18777.77° C Earth temperature
Length of year
62.95 Earth days
1.41 Local days
Length of day
1074.10 hours

Boiling point of water
-273.1° Celcius
-459.7° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage
0.0

Cloud cover percentage
0.0

Ice cover percentage
0.0

















Auqlan A-2 (Hartum)
Planet type
Rock
Tidally Locked 1 Face
Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star
6.4E+07 KM
0.426 AU
Mass
1.2E+24Kg
0.2 Earth masses
Surface gravity
569.3 cm/sec2
0.58 Earth gees
Surface pressure
0 millibars
0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature
189.2° Celcius
372.6° Fahrenheit
+175.2° C Earth temperature
+315.4° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range













Min

Max
-206.7° C
-340.0° F
-
396.3° C
745.3° F
Equatorial radius
3790.5 Km
0.59 Earth radii
Density
5.37 grams/cc
0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.006

Escape Velocity
6.6 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
160.5 and above

Axial tilt
23°

Planetary albedo
0.07

Exospheric Temperature
11212.46° K
+9939.46° C Earth temperature
Length of year
97.35 Earth days
1.00 Local days
Length of day
2336.31 hours

Boiling point of water
-273.1° Celcius
-459.7° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage
0.0

Cloud cover percentage
0.0

Ice cover percentage
0.0

















Auqlan A-3 (Dahilah)
Planet type
Rock
Tidally Locked 1 Face
Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star
9.9E+07 KM
0.665 AU
Mass
1.8E+23Kg
0.0 Earth masses
Surface gravity
296.1 cm/sec2
0.30 Earth gees
Surface pressure
0 millibars
0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature
97.1° Celcius
206.7° Fahrenheit
+83.1° C Earth temperature
+149.5° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range













Min

Max
-225.6° C
-374.1° F
-
282.2° C
539.9° F
Equatorial radius
1988.8 Km
0.31 Earth radii
Density
5.33 grams/cc
0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.005

Escape Velocity
3.4 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
241.8 and above

Axial tilt
28°

Planetary albedo
0.07

Exospheric Temperature
4607.38° K
+3334.38° C Earth temperature
Length of year
189.67 Earth days
1.00 Local days
Length of day
4552.15 hours

Boiling point of water
-273.1° Celcius
-459.7° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage
0.0

Cloud cover percentage
0.0

Ice cover percentage
0.0

















Auqlan A-4 (Qina)
Planet type
Venusian
Hot, Arid, Cloudy, Boiling ocean, Unbreathably thick atmosphere
Distance from primary star
1.1E+08 KM
0.763 AU
Mass
6.2E+24Kg
1.0 Earth masses
Surface gravity
995.2 cm/sec2
1.01 Earth gees
Surface pressure
141897 millibars
140.041 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature
918.0° Celcius
1684.4° Fahrenheit
+904.0° C Earth temperature
+1627.2° F Earth temperature
+787.0° C greenhouse effect (GH)
Normal temperature range













Min

Max
907.5° C
1665.5° F
-
918.8° C
1685.9° F
Equatorial radius
6469.3 Km
1 Earth radii
Density
5.50 grams/cc
1 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.053

Escape Velocity
11.3 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
16.9 and above
NH3, H2O, Ne, N2, CO, NO, O2, H2S...
Axial tilt
28°

Planetary albedo
0.52

Exospheric Temperature
3494.87° K
+2221.87° C Earth temperature
Length of year
233.36 Earth days
269.73 Local days
Length of day
20.76 hours

Boiling point of water
315.1° Celcius
599.2° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage
0.0

Cloud cover percentage
100.0

Ice cover percentage
0.0

















Auqlan A-5 (Rana)
Planet type
Sub-Jovian
Distance from primary star
2E+08 KM
1.347 AU
Mass
3.5E+25Kg
5.9 Earth masses
0.0 Jovian masses
72.0% dust, 28.0% gas
Equatorial radius
17895.6 Km
2.8 Earth radii
Density
1.48 grams/cc
0.27 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.151

Escape Velocity
16.3 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
2.6 and above
He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O, Ne, N2...
Axial tilt
21°

Planetary albedo
0.54

Exospheric Temperature
1122.03° K
-150.97° C Earth temperature
Length of year
547.13 Earth days
871.75 Local days
1.50 Earth years
Length of day
15.06 hours

















Auqlan A-6 (Ganin)
Planet type
Jovian
Distance from primary star
3.9E+08 KM
2.617 AU
Mass
1.8E+27Kg
301.8 Earth masses
0.9 Jovian masses
10.8% dust, 89.2% gas
Equatorial radius
59517.6 Km
9.3 Earth radii
Density
2.04 grams/cc
0.37 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit
0.246

Escape Velocity
63.6 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained
0.1 and above
H, H2, He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O...
Axial tilt
24°

Planetary albedo
0.55

Exospheric Temperature
297.29° K
-975.71° C Earth temperature
Length of year
1480.91 Earth days
5068.88 Local days
4.05 Earth years
Length of day
7.01 hours





6 comments:

Pontifex said...

SWEET!

Dangerous Brian said...

Damn, that has to be my fastest blog comment yet. Glad to you like it.

Pontifex said...

I was clicking between my blog front page and my dashboard when the post hit the pavement. So I was right on top of that shit.

Brutorz Bill said...

I'll definately be following this!

Caliban said...

Hi Brian, congratulations and good luck with your big day!

Paul

Dangerous Brian said...

Thanks Bill. I'll get the next location - a rogue planetoid named Apanthi (Urdu for "Wrong Road") up over the next few days.

Andthanks very much for your best wishes Paul. It was a great day. I'm now throughtly and happily wed.