Tainelle System
| Age | 7.9 billion years |
|---|---|
| Location |
9.22 ly from Polytinaris Polytinaris Spur, Far 3 kpc arm |
| Nearest star | Belza (4.27 ly) |
| Nearest known planetary system | Belza System (4.27) |
| Planetary system | |
| Semi-major axis of outer known planet | 4.31 AU (Larth) |
Populations | |
| Known stars | 1 (Tainelle) |
| Known planets | 11 (6 terrestrial planets, 5 gas giants) |
| Star-related properties | |
| Spectral type | M1V |
| Variable type | none |
The Tainelle System is a single star system located 9.22 light years from the Polytinaris System, within the Polytinaris Spur of the Milky Way’s Far 3 kpc arm. The system contains a single stellar component: the M1V-class red dwarf star Tainelle, and is somewhat older than both Polytinaris and the Solar System in age. Tainelle is the home system of the avian duck-like Halolans, which ruled the system for centuries under the Princedom of Halola until Tainelle was conquered and annexed into the Tessian Hegemony in the year 2006.
The Tainelle System is one of the larger known planetary systems existing within the Polytinaris Spur, hosting a total of 11 planets spread amongst 6 rocky terrestrial planets and 5 gas giants. Four bodies within the system are known to host liquid water: the habitable moon Calaklum, the oblate world Katrina and the habitable planets Asaeon & Naioe. Tainelle also harbors an extremely atypical planetary layout, with multiple inner system gas giants and outer system rocky worlds.
System structure & evolutionary history
Like most single star systems, Tainelle accounts for the vast majority of the mass within the system. With eleven planets, Tainelle is certainly on the larger side for a solar system, though in actual size all of its planets have orbits fitting within that of the Solar System’s Jupiter. The system is arranged in an unusual fashion as well, with its two largest gas giants being located close to the star. The second of these, Tempest, orbits within the habitable zone and even shares its orbit with a large super-Earth named Katrina in a rare instance of Lagrangian trojan orbits between planets.
The larger giants Pluvor & Tempest, along with the smaller gaseous world Hembral and the terrestrial planet Katrina (which is speculated to likely have formed as a roughly Neptune-sized planet) were the first to form during the system’s early years. Both Pluvor and Tempest migrated close in to the star relatively early on, dragging in the other two extant planets with them. Katrina, which now was in the habitable zone, thawed out into a giant ocean world and eventually settled into its current place trailing 60 degrees behind Tempest. Later, the other worlds of the system formed - the inward movement of the two gas giants sucked up a large amount of the remaining protoplanetary disk around the star, keeping Gutke and Naioe rather small. Asaeon meanwhile grew to its current size as a medium super-Earth after collisions between multiple other smaller planets over a few million years.
Major bodies
Tainelle
Tainelle - also less frequently referred to as Anastea, the name assigned to it by its native inhabitants - is the sole star at the center of the Tainelle System. Tainelle is a red dwarf star, the most common type of star in the universe. Even still, it is rather large as far as red dwarfs go, having roughly one-half of the mass and radius of the Sun. Tainelle is barely 5% as luminous as the Sun, however, not only due to its smaller size but also due to its substantially lower surface temperature of only 3,795 Kelvin, giving it a spectral type of M1V.
At 7.9 billion years old, Tainelle is significantly older than the Sun and is also slightly more aged than the Polytinaris System as well. The exact process of Tainelle’s death is uncertain due to no such stars of its mass having left the main sequence yet, but it is estimated that around 70 billion years from now Tainelle will run out of hydrogen fuel and begin to evolve further. Like higher mass G and K-type stars, it will go through a red giant stage, though one of a smaller size and longer duration owing to its lower mass. During this time, all planets out to the orbit of Asaeon will be engulfed while icy bodies in the outer system like Larth may briefly enjoy habitability. After this period, Tainelle will contract into a small helium-rich white dwarf that will slowly fade away to a black dwarf; its mass is too low to allow high enough core temperatures for helium to ignite, meaning it will not undergo red clump and asymptotic giant branch phases unlike larger stars.
Pluvor
Pluvor is the first planet of the Tainelle System. It is a gas giant & is the second-largest planet in the system, falling in between the planets Jupiter and Saturn in mass and radius.
Pluvor is an uncommon example of a hot Jupiter world located around a red dwarf: these types of planets tend to be found around higher-mass stars and are quite rare around red dwarfs due to the smaller planetary distances inhibiting the favorability of migration to the very tight orbits typical of hot Jupiters. Those that are lucky and do get close enough often crash into the star itself or are torn apart by tidal forces. In Pluvor’s case, it is thought that the outer planet of Tempest acted as a sort of orbital stabilizer, keeping it in its current position without major movements. Nevertheless, Pluvor is a typical hot gas giant, hosting extreme temperatures, a turbulent atmosphere, and a pair of planet-sized anticyclones facing toward Tainelle itself. The planet is however notable for its bright orange color stemming from an abundance of sulfur within its cloud decks.
Gutke
Gutke is the second planet of Tainelle and is the first terrestrial planet of the system. It also holds the title of Tainelle’s smallest planet, being not much bigger than the planet Mercury. Gutke is a barren & heavily cratered rocky world host to no atmosphere or native life.
Tempest
The third planet and next gas giant of the Tainelle System, Tempest holds the title of the largest planet in the system, boasting a mass on par with Jupiter and a radius slightly beating said planet. Tempest orbits within Tainelle’s inner habitable zone, granting it a blue-green color stemming from clouds of water ice in its atmosphere, as opposed to the reds, oranges, and browns of colder gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn.
WIP
Calaklum
Katrina
Asaeon
Naioe
Hembral
Muufwak
Cora
Bismarck
Tirpitz
Ziziao
Larth
