Triangulum Log - Post 6 - Vista System (A Parting Recap)

Oculus System - Post 1 (Introduction)

We are now inside the giant NGC 604 Nebula. I’ve come across this wide binary system consisting of a F4 giant that is almost 16 times brighter than Earth’s sun and a smaller, but still bright G0V type star more than twice the brightness of Sol. The first worlds I am exploring are the ones orbiting the smaller or secondary of the two stars.

Descriptions of the planet’s to follow in the next post.

Space Engine System ID: RS 1229-171-5-23517-58

High Resolution Pics

Picture 1 - Inner-most Planet

Picture 2 - Surface

Picture 3 - Warm Ice-Giant

Picture 4 - System's fourth planet from a satellite

Picture 5 - Double occultation of two moons

Picture 6 - World with Ethane Oceans

Picture 7 - Setting distant 2nd sun

Picture of the day - January 3, 2019

Desert-like moon orbiting a large gas giant. This is the same world as the skylines from the previous post.

Gas Giant Classification System

Note: this is a modified version of the Sudarsky Gas Giant Classification System, which is a system proposed by David Sudarsky to classify gas giant planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn.

The system that Sudarsky created classifies gas giant planets based off of the temperature of the planet’s atmosphere’s at 1 bar pressure, and the primary chemical that comprises the planet’s cloud decks. His original system contained 5 different types of gas giants: Ammonia, Water, Cloudless, Alkali Metal, and Silicate Clouds)

I have decided to amend his original classification system to include three additional types of gas planets (Nitrogen-Oxygen, Methane, and Carbon), and I believe this system should apply generally to ice giants as well. These modifications cover more types of gaseous planets under a greater range of temperatures and compositions. Again credit to the original idea is given to David Sudarsky.

Type Ib: Nitrogen-Oxygen Class Gas/ Ice Giant

Nitrogen-Oxygen Gas/Ice Giants are the coldest types of gaseous planet. They have atmospheric temperatures of less than 40 K, (-388 °F) at 1 bar pressure. These planets have atmospheric temperatures low enough that oxygen and nitrogen condense into liquid droplets and ice crystals, and at lower depths in the atmosphere it rains liquid nitrogen and oxygen. In hydrogen depleted gas/ ice giants, the cloud decks may even be composed of crystals and droplets of carbon monoxide.

These planets have a primarily deep blue color, with dull gray/blue cloud bands. The blue color of the atmosphere is due to the presence of liquid nitrogen and oxygen lower in the atmosphere which scatters blue light. Gaseous planets of this class planets are relatively rare. Gas giants of this class only exist if they are extremely old (8+ Billion years) and orbit far from their parent star. Most gas giants emit enough internal heat to be too warm to fit this class, given the age of the universe. Ice giants of this class would be more common due to their smaller size and smaller reservoirs of internal heat. Rogue ice giants occupy most planets of this class.

Type Ia: Methane Class Gas/Ice Giant

Methane Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 40 K and 90 K (-388 °F and -298 °F). These planet’s have atmospheric temperatures that support the formation of methane clouds. Methane is the primary light scattering chemical which gives the planet a deep blue to cyan color. Examples of this class include both Neptune and Uranus.

Methane Class gas planets orbit far from their parent stars, and often emit as much heat as they receive from the sun. Atmospheric activity is driven almost entirely by internally released heat. Planet’s with less heat often appear bland and almost featureless (i.e. Uranus), while planets that emit significant internal heat, show more pronounced cloud bands and even large cyclonic systems (i.e. Neptune). The hue of the planet is believed to be determined by how much methane is in the atmosphere.

Type I: Ammonia Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type I)

Ammonia Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 90 K and 160 K (-298 °F and -172 °F). These planet’s have atmospheres dominated by ammonia ice crystals. Ammonia is the primary light scattering compound that often gives these planets a brownish hue. Temperatures are warm enough in the atmosphere for complex chemistry to occur, including for formation of tholins and other complex hydrocarbons, along with various other chemical compounds dredged up through convection from the interior. Cloud bands may take on numerous colors including: brown, white, red, orange and yellow.

Ammonia Gas giants include both the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The atmosphere of an ammonia gas planet is extremely turbulent and active due to the increased solar radiation. These planets typically orbit just beyond a star systems frost line (the temperature at which ice will not sublimate in a vacuum), but not far enough for methane clouds form.

Type II: Water Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type II)

Water Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 160 K and 250 K (-172 °F and -10 °F). These planets have atmospheres dominated by water-ice crystals, and their atmosphere experiences liquid water rain at lower depths. If a gaseous planet were to support aerial life, Type II planets would be the perfect candidate. Water-Ice reflects a lot of the sunlight making these planets extremely bright with high reflective albedos.

No Water Class Gas or Ice giants exist within the solar system, but examples include: Upsilon Andromedae D or PH2B. Type II planets orbit from the middle of the habitable zone out to the edge of the frost line. Type II gaseous planets orbiting within a system’s habitable zone may have large Earth-like satellites in orbit that are capable of supporting life.

Type IIa: Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giant

Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 250 K and 350 K (-10 °F and 170 °F). These planets have atmospheres dominated by hydrogen sulfide and sulfur. Cloud decks are composed of crystals of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur-dust. These planets have complex upper atmospheric chemistry dominated by sulfur bearing compounds, and have a composition similar to the clouds of Venus. Atomic sulfur dust in the atmosphere gives the planet’s a distinct yellow hue, and is the result of ultraviolet radiation breaking down hydrogen sulfide though a process called photodissociation.

Sulfur Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit between the center of a system’s habitable zone and a system’s Venus Zone. The atmosphere’s of Type IIa planets are extremely active which cyclonic systems, sharp cloud bands, and chaotic polar regions. As with Type II Gas/Ice Giants, Type IIa planets orbiting within a system’s habitable zone may support Earth-like moons in orbit.

Type III: Cloudless Glass Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type III)

Cloudless Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 350 K and 800 K (170 °F and 980 °F). These planets have atmospheres that do not lie within a temperature range of any common compounds to exist as either ice crystals of liquid droplets. Methane deep in the atmosphere give the planets a blueish green hue from the scattering of blue light. Due to the lack of clouds, the banding is faint and muted in appearance. Varying concentrations of sulfides and chlorides between the individual weather zones give each band a slightly different hue. If high concentrations of sulfur are present, these planets may take on a violet or purple color from the formation of diatomic sulfur molecules.

Cloudless Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit between roughly a mercury equivalent orbit and the inner edge of the Venus Zone. The atmosphere despite it’s faded appearance, experiences powerful winds and extremely stormy weather. Roughly half of these type of planets orbit close enough to their parent stars to be tidally locked.

Type IV: Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type IV)

Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 800 K and 1,400 K (980 °F and 2,060 °F). At these temperatures carbon monoxide becomes the dominate carbon-carrying molecule instead of methane. Metals such as sodium and potassium become more common in the atmosphere, condensing into cloud decks. Additionally clouds containing titanium dioxide and vanadium oxide may also form. Type IV planets typically have a monochromatic color, but some may have hues of dark green or dark red, depending on the composition of the clouds. Most have a very low reflective albedo, reflecting less than 5% of the sunlight they receive.

Alkali Metal Class Gas/Ice Giants orbit close to their parent stars, and most are tidally locked to their sun. Extremely violent weather occurs within the atmosphere, and most experience wind speeds of over 1,000 mph. The increased heat also increases the overall diameter of the planet; therefore, Type IV planets are often larger than Types Ib - Type III of the same mass.

Type V: Ferro-Silicate Class Gas/Ice Giant (Original Sudarsky Type V)

Ferro-Sillicate Class Gas/Ice Giants occupy a temperature range between 1,400 K and 2,800 K (2,060 °F and 4,580 °F). These planets are viewed of as the traditional examples of either a Hot Jupiter or Hot Neptune. Temperatures are hot enough that cloud decks of silicates and iron form in the upper atmosphere. It is not uncommon for molten iron and molten glass rain to occur within the atmosphere. The color of these planets varies wildly depending on whether silicates or iron are more common. Type V planets with silicates dominating the cloud decks will appear bright azure blue in color from liquid droplets of glass scattering blue light. Type V planets where iron dominates the cloud decks will have a more gray-red color. The atmosphere is so hot that it glows a dull red.

Ferro-Silicate Gas/Ice Giants orbit very close to their parent stars with orbital periods of a few days or less and are tidally locked to the sun. Their diameters are puffed up by the intense solar radiation, and the planets often have unusually low average densities, lower than that of even Saturn. Weather is wild in the atmosphere, with winds blowing in excess of 2,000 mph. The winds are so fast and transport heat so efficiently that the night side is almost as hot as the day side despite being in perpetual darkness. A prime example of this planet type would be 51 Pegasi B. (Note this was the first type of planet discovered orbiting a sun-like star outside of our solar system). Due to the close proximity to their parent stars, these planets are constantly loosing atmospheric gasses, and appear almost comet-like from the distance.

Type VI: Carbon Class Gas/Ice Giant

Carbon Class Gas/Ice giants occupy a temperature range above 2,800 K (4,580 °F), and are considered to be the rarest type of planet. These planets have cloud decks composed of carbon. Cloud decks of solid carbon crystals will be composed of graphite, while at deeper depths liquid diamond rain will occur. Above 2,800 K most chemical compounds break down into their constituent elements, and the atmosphere of these planets have more in common with that of a star than a planet. The atmosphere is primarily black in color, reflecting less than 1% of the light the planet receives. The planet is only visible because temperatures are hot enough that the atmosphere and clouds glow dim red in color.

Type VI planets orbit close enough to their parent stars that they have orbital periods of less than a day, are tidally locked to the sun, and lose thousands of tons of their atmospheres every second. Very weird chemical reactions occur at the boundary line with the night side, where chemicals such as water are broken into hydrogen and oxygen during the day, and re-condense into water vapor at night. Ice giants of this class would only be short-lived since they are not massive enough to retain their hydrogen-helium atmospheres for more than a few tens of millions of years. Carbon-Class Gas giants can be the largest planets in terms of diameter, their size extremely bloated by intense solar radiation.

This is merely my input on classifying giant type planets, which I use in my hobby of designing my own star systems. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free to do so.

Twin sunrise on a Mercury-like planet.

The heliosphere is the bubble-like region of space dominated by the Sun, which extends far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Plasma “blown” out from the Sun, known as the solar wind, creates and maintains this bubble against the outside pressure of the interstellar medium, the hydrogen and helium gas that permeates the Milky Way Galaxy. The solar wind flows outward from the Sun until encountering the termination shock, where motion slows abruptly. The Voyager spacecraft have explored the outer reaches of the heliosphere, passing through the shock and entering the heliosheath, a transitional region which is in turn bounded by the outermost edge of the heliosphere, called the heliopause. The shape of the heliosphere is controlled by the interstellar medium through which it is traveling, as well as the Sun and is not perfectly spherical. The limited data available and unexplored nature of these structures have resulted in many theories. The word “heliosphere” is said to have been coined by Alexander J. Dessler, who is credited with first use of the word in the scientific literature.

On September 12, 2013, NASA announced that Voyager 1 left the heliopause on August 25, 2012, when it measured a sudden increase in plasma density of about forty times. Because the heliopause marks one boundary between the Sun’s solar wind and the rest of the galaxy, a spacecraft such as Voyager 1 which has departed the heliosphere, can be said to have reached interstellar space. source

Triangulum Log - Post 4 - The Vista System (First Planet)

Top image shows the Andromeda Galaxy rising above the inner-most dwarf planet. From here, the great spiral galaxy covers over 11 degrees of the sky or almost 22 times larger than a full moon on Earth.

Other three images show the inner-most planet, a large ice giant 50 times the mass of Earth orbiting 0.30 AU from the sun.

In the last shot, each of the small stars in the background are actually large bright asteroids in the systems asteroid belt.

High Resolution Links Below

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

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Once again thank you.

Vernier System - Post 3 (4th Planet)

The system’s 4th plant. This planet is a super-Earth orbiting the two suns at an average distance of 3.79 AU. At 4.66 Earth masses and a radius of 1.71 Earth’s the planet is quite large and massive compared to Earth. It has a hydrocarbon rich atmosphere and an average surface temperature of 187 K or -122 °F. 3 large satellites orbit the planet. The surface show evidence of numerous large impact events.

The plant’s large moons orbit close to the planet and are capable of producing double eclipses, a phenomenon only possible in star systems with more than 1 sun.

High Resolution Pictures

Picture 1 - Large battered world.

Picture 2 - Inner-most satellite occulting the planet.

Picture 3 - Large canyon

Picture 4 - Canyon close-up

Picture 5 - Double Eclipse

Picture 6 - Lunar shadow

Picture of the Day - January 30, 2019 - (Very late post)

Violet-colored planet with its two moons.

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