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Iota Piscium

Capital System of the Iota Network

Iota system
Image from The Astronomer
The main worlds of the Iota system

Iota Piscium - System containing Corona and the Hestia Sunline

StarLucida, Iota Piscium, HIP 116771
TypeF7 V
Luminosity3.55 x Sol
ConstellationPisces
Distance from Sol44.7 ly (epoch 2000)
The Lucida system, more often referred by its star's original nickname, the Iota system, is a star system with 6 major planets and 14 dwarf planets, as well as two asteroid belts. Historically, it is referred to as variously, such as Iota Piscium, Iota, and Corona, some of the names are still in use, even today. The system gave its name to the Iota Network and its ruling archailect, the Iota Scholar.
The system's many polities have a history of becoming major players in interstellar politics. The most notable of these is Corona, once the capital of the Taurus Nexus, a superpower of its time, although most other major polities in the system have also influenced other nearby star systems at some point, especially after the system became the center and the symbolic capital of the Iota Network.

Minerva

Minerva, Current Era
Image from The Astronomer
Minerva, a Cytherean type world in the Iota Piscium system
MinervaType - Cytherean.
Radius 8150.7km
Semi-major axis 0.612 AU
Orbital Period 0.446 standard years
Rotation period 176.093 standard hours
Moons: none.
Associated Polities:
L4: Lucida-Minerva L4 computronium Node —
L5: Lucida-Minerva L5 Computronium Node
Polities: - Communion of Minerva
inerva is the first planet of the Iota system. It is a EuCytherean planet, not much larger than the Old Earth, with an atmosphere dense enough to create an ocean of supercritical carbon dioxide several kilometers thick. The planet's albedo is enhanced due to the feral weather machines, descendants of those introduced since the early days of colonization. The planet does not have a natural satellite, and even today there is little artificial infrastructure in orbit around this world, apart from a few rotating skyhooks at the equator.
Originally Minerva was part of the budding Hera Federation, but broke away during the Ex-IMPA territory rush period. As gengineering technology evolves, the colonists soon opt for floater tweak bodies, allowing them to live outside floating habitats. Over thousands of years since then, the Minervan society evolves into a remarkably static empathic tribemind-based society that interacts very little with its off-world neighbors, the status that they maintained for over seven millennia, interrupted only by the brief occupation by the Solar Dominion, when they were forced out of isolation.
Today, the people of Minerva are much less strict about their isolationist policies. Many Minervans chose to join the wider Iotan community, and some even migrated out of their homeworld completely. Those who remain continue to pursue collective wellbeing in their own traditional, spiritual way. Many Iotans think that Minervan culture is constrained and even boring, but most of the 521 million people who populate this world have chosen to reject the high-pressure, materialistic culture that they see as plaguing the rest of the system.

Eva

Eva.
Image from The Astronomer
Eva has numerous arcologies on its surface, which support most of the population of this world
EvaType - Selenian.
Radius 5179.2km
Semi-major axis 1.241 AU
Orbital Period 1.289 standard years
Rotation period 34.363 standard hours
Eva is the second planet of the Iota system. It is a hot Earth-sized EuArean planet. Its surface is very heavily cratered, including many massive craters such as the New Caloris crater (where the planet's honorary capital Mirakis is located), although the planet's thin carbon dioxide atmosphere slowly erode many of the craters away. Several dozen gigantic dark-colored city-domes dotted the surface, some for aioids and vecs, and some for bionts and cyborgs. The planet does not have any natural satellite.

Throughout early history, it monopolized amat production in the system and was on-par economically and militarily with Hera, the strongest polity at the time. This monopoly collapsed with the creation of monopoles, bringing along with it a good chunk of the planet's economy. The planet was a minor member of the Taurus Nexus. It never officially joined the NoCoZo, remaining de jure independent throughout the era. It was then annexed by the Solar Dominion along with the rest of the system and finally joined the Iota Network.

Historically, Eva has been one of the most expansionistic polities in its system. This mentality never faded away and currently takes the form of a campaign to export its cultures. It has been rather successful, and the unique optimistic Evan culture became popular among many polities throughout the Iota system and beyond.

Corona

Corona.
Image from The Astronomer
Corona in the Current Era, with its artificial rings and auroral display
CoronaType - Terraformed Gaian world: see also main article about this world.
Radius 7637km
Mass 1.67 x Earth
Semi-major axis 1.816 AU
Orbital Period 2.282 standard years
Rotation period 19.38 standard hours
Moon Sonata- radius 1017.6km, period 11.729 standard days
L4: New Eureka
L5: Kayal Swarm
Polities: - Planetary State of Corona
Corona is the former capital of the Taurus Nexus, and a major Academic World. The world has been part of the NoCoZo, the Second Federation and the Solar Dominion, but is currently independent. Since 6035 the ruling body of this world has been the Planetary State of Corona. The world is surrounded by numerous habitats known as the High Cyclers, and also by a system of orbital rings which are capable of displaying artificial aurorae (amongst other display options).

Associated Polities

New Eureka

Archimedes Shipyard
New Eureka and Archimedes Shipyard
New EurekaType - Dwarf Planet (Planetoid Class), located at the Corona/Iota Piscium L4 point.
Radius 871.3km
Semi-major axis 1.816 AU
Orbital Period 2.282 standard years (in 1:1 resonance with Corona)
Rotation period 6.548 standard hours
Moon Archimedes- Radius 38.2 km
New Eureka has a small moon (Archimedes), which is the site of one of the oldest and most important shipyards in this system.


Hera

Hera.
Image from The Astronomer
Hera, with the supraplanetary ring that surrounds this gas giant
HeraType - Gas Giant.
Radius 61771.3km
Semi-major axis 7.212 AU
Orbital Period 18.057 standard years
Rotation period 9.71 standard hours
Moons Enyo (184 km), Enyalios (204 km), Erinyes (1044.1 km), Hebe (1234.7 km), Eileithyia (1514.6 km), Heracles (1389.3 km), Typhon (214 km)
L4: At the Hera/Lucida L4 point is a swarm of asteroid habitats named after Soviet Cosmonauts (Kunhan) —
L5: At the Hera/Lucida L4 point is a swarm of asteroid habitats named after American Astronauts (Yugar)
Polities:
- Federation of Hera —
Council of Independent Kunhan
Nations - Assembly of Yugar
Hera in the Current Era is surrounded by the Juno Ring, a supraplanetary megastructure

Hestia

Hestia.
Image from The Astronomer
The Class 3 Sunline around Hestia, which provides light and heat to a large number of local moons and habitats.
HestiaType - Jovian world, equipped with a class 3 sunline to illuminate the local moons.
Radius 27810.4 km
Semi-major axis 14.786 AU
Orbital Period 53.017 standard years
Rotation period 13.72 standard hours
Moons Oikos (partially paraterraformed moon)(488.7 km); Prytania (partially paraterraformed moon)(420.2 km); Delphi (2467.8 km)
L4: Ginkgo Swarm —
L5: Kandan Swarm
Polities: - Federation of Hestia
The Hestia Sunline is a circumplanetary light source supported by a pair of counter-rotating orbital rings; these rings are powered by the fusion of hydrogen and helium extracted from Hestia's atmosphere, and the same source of energy provides illumination for the moons and habitats orbiting this world. Both Oikos and Prytania are tidally locked moons, and half of each moon facing Hestia has been paraterraformed with a worldhouse roof, allowing them to maintain a temperate environment on that hemisphere.

Nadir

Nadir-Zenith
Image from The Astronomer
Nadir, a small icy world in this system, and its moon Zenith
NadirType - LithicGelidian Type world.
Radius 1364.3 km
Semi-major axis 19.376 AU
Orbital Period 79.533 standard years
Moon Zenith (652.9 km)


Pasithea

Pasithea
Image from The Astronomer
Pasithea is a cold lithicgelidian world at the edge of the system.
PasitheaType LithicGelidian.
Radius 2658.4 km
Semi-major axis 28.859 AU
Orbital Period 144.568 standard years
Rotation period 17.33 standard hours
Moon Hypnos - radius 126.8 km
Polities: - Democracy of Pasithea


Cahaya

Cahaya
Cahaya, a small, oblate dwarf planet on the outskirts of this system
CahayaType LithicGelidian.
Radius 1472.1 km
Semi-major axis 49.014 AU
Orbital Period 319.986 standard years
Rotation period 7.543 standard hours


The Corona Cliotelescope

Cliotelescope
Image from Steve Bowers
The Corona Cliohistorical Telescope is located more than ten thousand astronomical units from Lucida, and is currently 57 million kilometres in radius, although it is continually being rebuilt.

Wormholes

Major Wormholes in this system

Rush Hour (2,000 m) to Alpha Mensae (Merrion)
Gate of Brilliant Self (2,500 m) to Xi Ursae Majoris (Fons Luminis)
Hawking's Gate (1,500 m) to Tau Ceti .

Minor wormholes

Taurus Nexus Bridge (100 m) to Xi Geminorum
A Short Walk (200 m) to TRAPPIST-1 (Seven Marbles)
Shrine Gate (50 m) to Iota Pegasi
Letter to Outpost Nowhere (100 m) to Ais Alnah
 
Related Articles
 
Appears in Topics
Inner SphereMinor PolitiesSystems & Worlds I - J
 
Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers and The Astronomer
Initially published on 26 February 2019.

 
Additional Information
Celestia add-on for this system.
First download Celestia, then unzip this folder into the extras folder in Celestia. The Iota Piscium system can be found by searching using the 'select object' function.
Download Link
 
 
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