List of human colony planets

This is a list of (some) human-settled planets. These planets are mostly common to the settings that take place before the year 5000 or so; later settings will be handled separately.

Again, a reminder that while many of them are around real stars, these planets are fictional.

Contents

First wave of settlement

The following planets were settled between the invention of warp drive in 2985 and c. 3450. For most of this period, technical limitations with star drives limited ships to journeys of about 7.5 light-years over a period of seven weeks. (For instance, the popular Mpóngó-class colony ship carried 50.23 days worth of fuel, equating to 7.5085 light-years.) This meant that to reach most planets, ships would have to take circuitous routes consisting of ~7.5 light-year "jumps."

Thus, a trip to Tau Ceti from Sol would not be an 11.8 light-year trip, but a 31.9 light-year trip, lasting at least seven months not including time spent refueling at Barnard's Star, Ross 154, Lacaille 8760, and Lacaille 9352. These restricted routes were popularly called "tramlines."

The moon Ultima (Upsilon Andromedae d 3), was so named because it was the furthest world on these routes: while only 43.8 light-years from Sol "as the crow flies," it was 130 light-years along the tramlines. A Mpóngó-class ship took nearly two and a half years to travel that far, assuming it spent minimal time in each of the 19 systems on the way.[a]

Over the course of the 35th century, faster drives became affordable for civilians, which led to the second period of expansion, AKA the "Great Outpouring."

Click on table headers to sort the table!

Planet System Distance from Sol (3250) Established Description
Hylonome Alpha Centauri A 4.30 3083 Earthlike
Tombaugh Tau Ceti 11.84 3135 High-G, Cold, Wet, Thick atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 20.75h day
Roosevelt Luyten's Star 12.43 3113 Very high-G, Very cold, Few clouds, Thick atmosphere (He, N2, O2), tide locked
Vulcan 40 Eridani A 16.17 3149 Low-G, Cold, Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 242.12h day
Kalimantan 70 Ophiuchi A 16.64 3140 Very cold, Few clouds (N2, O2), 22.3h day
Mindanao Sigma Draconis 18.91 3229 Cold, Wet, Few clouds (N2, O2 - breathable), 17.63h day
Sand Gliese 570 A 19.43 3148 Hot, Dry, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 73.25h day
Ishtar Eta Cassiopeiae A 19.35 3255 Low-G, Warm, Cloudy, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2), 21.1h day
New Korea 36 Ophiuchi B 19.40 3121 Very cold, Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2 - breathable), 50.04h day
Atlantis 82 Eridani 20.07 3154 High-G, Icy, Exceptionally cold, Cloudless, Thick atmosphere (N2, He, O2), 43.5h day
New Dinétah Delta Pavonis 19.80 3145 Warm, Wet, Thick atmosphere (N2, O2 - breathable), 14.48h day
Kuiper Furuhjelm 46 B, AKA HD 155876 19.37 3204
Prairie Beta Hydri 24.43 3162 Cold, Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2), 16.13h day
New Yukon 107 Piscium 24.79 3181 Very cold, Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2), 26.27h day
Avalon Pi3 Orionis, AKA Tabit, AKA 1 Orionis 26.41 3168 Cold, Few clouds (N2, O2), 15.04h day
Charlene Beta Canum Venaticorum, AKA Chara 27.66 3137 Earthlike, 16.52h day
Mojave 61 Virginis 27.80 3150 Very high-G, Cool, Cloudless, Arid, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2), 29.97h day
New Tasmania Zeta Tucanae 28.11 3164 Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 18.06h day
Chonganda Beta Comae Berenices 30.02 3132 Cold, Few clouds (N2, O2, Ar), 15.44h day
Alaska and Hawaii Wolf 46, AKA Gliese 49, AKA HIP 4871 32.13 3276 Alaska: High-G, Very cold, Few clouds, Dry, Thick atmosphere (N2, He, O2, Ar), 106.91h day
Hawaii: Exceptionally hot, Cloudy, Wet, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 137.05h day
Saranyu Iota Persei 34.71 3295 Hot, Cloudy, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 74.82h day
Rancé and Fidélité TRAPPIST-1 40.45 3448 Rancé: Icy, Exceptionally cold, Cloudless, Dry, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2), tide locked
Manteo 55 Cancri A, AKA Copernicus 41.17 3299 Habitable moon of the gas giant Harriot
??? HD 40307 42.31 3445
??? HD 172051, AKA 86 G. Sagittarii 42.66 3446
Ultima Upsilon Andromedae A, AKA Titawin 43.84 3318 Icy, Exceptionally cold, Cloudless, Arid, Normal atmosphere (N2, O2), 256.45h day (habitable moon of the gas giant Majriti)
Phaisop 47 Ursae Majoris, AKA Chalawan 45.34 3306
New Jerusalem, AKA New Pyongyang 18 Scorpii 46.16 3318 Wet, Thick atmosphere (N2, O2), 14.29h day
Buraq HD 10307 A (Haizum) 47.96 3314 Few clouds, Dry, Thick atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 21.29h day
Durango Mu Arae, AKA Cervantes 50.86 3458 Habitable moon of the gas giant Quijote

Footnotes

  1. ^ Note that these distances hold for the year 3250 and not the year 2023. Yes, I went to the trouble of calculating the motion of all nearby stars out to that time!

The Great Outpouring

The following planets were settled between c. 3450 and c. 3850. The period was so named as it was a period of large, sustained emigration from Earth; most settlers during this period came from there, rather than any of the established colony planets.

At the end of this period, human-settled space was roughly 160 light-years in radius, with 221 settled worlds (compared to 66 light-years and 51 worlds at the beginning).

Planet System Distance from Sol (3750) Established Description
Paredarerme Gliese 472 52.81 3391
Panninher HD 99453 90.84 3547
Sezong HD 178076 A 95.01 3573 High-g, icy, exceptionally cold, few clouds, normal atmosphere (N2, O2), 59.70h day
Yankunytjatjara Gliese 550 123.2 3700 High-g, hot, cloudless, arid, normal atmosphere, 33.15h day
Charlotte Amalie HD 28185 128.3 3535 Hot, cloudy, normal atmosphere (N2, O2, Ar), 534.69h day (habitable gas giant moon)
New Atlantis HD 31822 151.0 3610 High-g, cold, few clouds, wet, normal atmosphere (N2, O2, He), 1,083.75h day (2:3 resonance)
Vermont HD 101364 194.2 4002 TK
Alzanna TR 311478 379.2 4788 TK

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