Difference between revisions of "Tau Ceti"

From FenWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(removed redundant category tags (now included in template))
(added revised system information)
Line 20: Line 20:
  
  
=== Known Places Around Tau Ceti ===
+
=== Tau Ceti System ===
* Tau Ceti I
+
 
* Tau Ceti II ([[Gallifrey]]) - First explored in 2009 by the [[Soviet Air Force]].
+
The Tau Ceti System was first explored in 2009 by the [[Soviet Air Force]] spacecraft ''[[Ptichka]]'' with a followup survey mission in 2014. The system consists of nine planets and two major debris belts:
* Ceti Belt
+
 
* Tau Ceti III
+
* '''Krop Tor''' (Tau Ceti I)
* Tau Ceti IV
+
* '''Gallifrey''' (Tau Ceti II)
* Tau Ceti V
+
* The '''Ceti Belt'''
* Tau Ceti VI
+
* '''Mondas''' (Tau Ceti III)
 +
* '''Ogros''' (Tau Ceti IV)
 +
* '''Karn''' (Tau Ceti V)
 +
* '''Skaro''' (Tau Ceti VI)
 +
* '''Calufrax''' (Tau Ceti VII)
 +
* '''Androzani Minor''' (Tau Ceti VIII)
 +
* '''Androzani Major''' (Tau Ceti IX)
 +
* The '''Time Barrier'''
 +
 
 +
Gallifrey is the only known life-supporting world in the Tau Ceti system, though it's possible that cryogenic ecosystems have evolved on Calufrax and the moons of Ogros and the Androzanis. As it stands, Gallifrey's ecosystem appears to be recovering from a Permian-style extinction event; the continents are largely desertified, with the oceans showing signs of rapid anoxia in the recent past.
 +
 
 +
The Soviet Air Force established an automated weather station on Gallifrey as part of the 2014 expedition.
  
  
 
{{interstellar}}
 
{{interstellar}}

Revision as of 18:30, 20 March 2010

Places in Fenspace
Tau Ceti
Gallifrey.jpg
Mountains of Solace near Ptichka's Landing
Stellar characteristics
ConstellationCetus
Right ascension (Epoch J2000)01h 44m 04.0829s
Declination (Epoch J2000)-15° 56' 14.928"
Spectral typeG8 V
Distance from Sol11.905 ± 0.007 ly
Other designationsDurre Menthor, Tau Cet, 52 Ceti, HD 10700, HR 509, BD-16°295, GCTP 365.00, GJ 71, LHS 146, LTT 935, LFT 159, SAO 147986, LPM 84, FK5 59, HIP 8102.
This box: view  talk  edit



Tau Ceti is a main sequence, yellow-orange dwarf (G8 Vp) that may be as much as 10 billion years old. It has about 81 to 82 percent of Sol's mass, around 77 percent its diameter (Pijpers et al, 2003), but only 59 percent of its luminosity (Saumon et al, 1996, page 17). The star does not appear to be as enriched as Sol in elements heavier than hydrogen ("metals") because it has only 22 to 74 percent of Sol's abundance of iron (Cayrel de Strobel et al, 1991, page 6).

Dust has been detected around Tau Ceti, as has been found in the Solar System (Kuchner et al, 1998 -- in pdf). There also may be an optical companion star seen in telescopes that is not actually bound by gravity to Tau Ceti, and the star does not appear to have a dim stellar or substellar companion based on astrometric measurements (Lippincott and Worth, 1980) or radial velocity variations (Campbell et al, 1988).

(boilerplate from SolStation.com)


Tau Ceti System

The Tau Ceti System was first explored in 2009 by the Soviet Air Force spacecraft Ptichka with a followup survey mission in 2014. The system consists of nine planets and two major debris belts:

  • Krop Tor (Tau Ceti I)
  • Gallifrey (Tau Ceti II)
  • The Ceti Belt
  • Mondas (Tau Ceti III)
  • Ogros (Tau Ceti IV)
  • Karn (Tau Ceti V)
  • Skaro (Tau Ceti VI)
  • Calufrax (Tau Ceti VII)
  • Androzani Minor (Tau Ceti VIII)
  • Androzani Major (Tau Ceti IX)
  • The Time Barrier

Gallifrey is the only known life-supporting world in the Tau Ceti system, though it's possible that cryogenic ecosystems have evolved on Calufrax and the moons of Ogros and the Androzanis. As it stands, Gallifrey's ecosystem appears to be recovering from a Permian-style extinction event; the continents are largely desertified, with the oceans showing signs of rapid anoxia in the recent past.

The Soviet Air Force established an automated weather station on Gallifrey as part of the 2014 expedition.