Luyten System

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The Luyten System, also known as Luyten's System and archaically as Luyten's Star System, is a star system located approximately 1.2 light years from Procyon, 12.3 light years away from the Solar System and 47.7 light years from TRAPPIST-1 System. First discovered in 1935, it gained interest in 2017 when two planets were discovered orbiting the star and again in 2019 when a further two planets were detected. After the success of the Deadalus mission to Alpha Centauri, the Zheng He probe was launched towards the system in 2133, paving the way for detailed exploration when it arrived a century later in 2233. Mapped out in detail, the second planet from the star was found to have escaped tidal locking and was deemed to be a terraforming candidate. Autonomous drones would begin a millennium long terraforming process Luyten b with asteroids taken from the system's Oort Cloud in 2380. Humans would first arrive to colonize the system in 2912, settling on the partially terraformed world of Luyten b after the asteroid bombardments had ceased, naming it Zhu Que after the Vermillion Bird of the South.

The core star of the system, Luyten's Star, is an M-type red dwarf that emits a weak red light. The star has an apparent visual magnitude of 9.9 and is not visible to the unaided eye from the Solar System.

Planets[edit | edit source]

The system consists of one earth like planet in close proximity orbit to the star; one super-earth orbiting within the habitable zonel and two gas dwarfs orbiting far out from the habitable zone. The system is shrouded in the dim red light given off by its red dwarf, and it contains many useful minerals contained in a circumstellar disc far beyond the gas dwarfs.

  • Fenghuang (Luyten c) - A rocky world orbiting extremely close to its host star, tidally locked with an orbital period of 4.72 days.
  • Zhu Que (Luyten b) - The only fully terraformed planet outside of the Solar System and seat of power for the eponymous Zhu Que Directorate, an eccentric orbit of 18.650 days around the star allows for a day night cycle of 11.625 days
  • Guanyin (Luyten d) - The closest gas dwarf to Luyten's star, tidally locked with an orbital period of 414 days and home to extensive gas mining operations.
  • Xiwangmu (Luyten e) - The furthest out gas dwarf, tidally locked with an orbital period of 542 days.

Gallery[edit | edit source]