Astra Planeta as a whole can be best summarized as a grounded yet optimistic exploration of
humanity’s future in space. The setting itself is a speculative future in which the human species embraces its cosmic wanderlust and
slowly,
conscientiously, ventures out to the nearest stars. Along the way,
we have encountered a small number of fellow thinking species, with whom we have allied ourselves in spacefaring solidarity.
The content of Astra Planeta is meticulously researched and constructed to be as true to present scientific knowledge as possible, but tries to strike a balance between realism and idealism. Humanity and our allies still face hardships —after all, the universe is not a particularly hospitable place— but the stories of this world focus on cooperation in the face of adversity and utilizing interpersonal differences as a source of strength against the unsympathetic cosmos. Astra Planeta, at its core, looks to a hopeful future to see where we could go, what we may discover, and who we might become at our best.
The Cosmos
COORDINATES
Locations are arranged by right ascension and distance; the +/- number above each system is its declination. Arrows at the center indicate the directions of the galactic core and rim using the symbols of Sagittarius and Orion, respectively, although the observed plane of the map is actually almost perpendicular to the galactic disk.
MARKER KEY
All stars are represented with a four-pointed star, with multiple-star systems having the appropriate number of star symbols directly adjacent. Eight-pointed stars are the homesuns of
sophonts.
Stars or multi-star systems with rings have at least one planet. Green rings indicate native life present on at least one orbiting planet or moon. Red rings indicate prior terraformation of at least one planet or moon by the extinct
skgri.
White dots represent
unbound interstellar planetoids of telluric or cryonic type. White dots with angled rings represent unbound interstellar planetoids of nephelic or jovian type. The single green dot represents
UIP-128 Murray-Callahan - the only rogue planet known to harbor life.
STAR COLORS
Stars are colored according to their spectral class:
Violet = Y substar (ultra-cool brown dwarf)
Maroon = T substar (cool brown dwarf)
Dark red = L substar (hot brown dwarf)
Red = M-type (red dwarf)
Orange = K-type (orange dwarf)
Yellow = G-type (solar-class)
Pale yellow - F-type
Pale blue = A-type
White = stellar remnant (white dwarf)
NETWORK COLORS
UNICODE SYSTEM SYMBOLS
✹ = star
⍟ = substar
✦ = white dwarf
◦ = cryonic planet (icy)
• = telluric planet (rocky)
⦾ = nephelic planet (ice giant)
⦿ = jovian planet (gas giant)
) = debris belt
. = planetoid moon or secondary object
POP-UP KEY
Letters in parentheses next to each name represent that body's
planetary type. Other notations in each listing include:
{Name} = debris region
Δ = endemic life
* = habitat settlement
T = terraformed world
π =
calyformed world
In the 130th century of the Universal Modern Era (2900s CE), known space extends in a roughly spherical radius from
Sol of about ten parsecs, or 32.6 lightyears; inhabited space only extends to roughly 7.6 parsecs (25 ly). It is important to note that
RCC territory exceeds the boundaries of known space, but is not included here.
In the 130th century of the Universal Modern Era (30th century CE), the extent of local space is defined by a roughly spherical radius of about ten parsecs, or 32.6
lightyears. This bubble consists of roughly 360 star and substar systems (totaling nearly 500 individual stars and substars), most of which have
planets of some sort. Across this range, approximately half are inhabited by sophonts to some degree, with most systems falling under the administrative influence of the
United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition or its member civilizations.
This bubble of space is our real stellar neighborhood, and the master world map is the product of months of research. The stars and substars are real, and many of the planets orbiting them are based on planet candidates discovered by real-world astronomers. Even star relative velocities are taken into account, shaping the extent of inhabited systems over time.
Reality Check
In some articles, you may notice this box beneath the main sidebar. Information within this box is included to highlight the notable similarities and differences between the Astra Planeta and real-world versions of a given subject.
The Denizens
The known universe has a surprising abundance and diversity of both
life and
sapience, with a grand total of 38 extant
genesis groups and eight extant fully-sapient species. Seven of these species are starfaring, and six are in regular contact with each other. Five of those six have aligned their major political entities into one transnational interstellar governing body: the
United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition. There is also abundant archaeological evidence of a
previous starfaring civilization in the local stellar group, which
caused its own extinction. The name of the culture itself is unknown, but the
skgri'i were the sophonts who embodied it.
Terminology
Articles and works in the Astra Planeta canon sometimes use original or somewhat-esoteric scientific terms to describe various things. These are usually explained with an embedded
tooltip, but certain words may be defined in the
Glossary or relevant
primer articles instead.
The Narrative
The various stories set within the Astra Planeta universe explore humanity’s path to the stars and their interactions with the other sapient denizens of the interstellar neighborhood, as well as the history and ecology of the myriad worlds scattered throughout known (and unknown) space. Though the project is realistic in its scientific and technological aspects, following in the footsteps of the likes of Arthur C. Clarke and Andy Weir, its sociopolitical and cultural aspects inherit the bright optimism of Carl Sagan.
Short Stories
The current narrative format of the Astra Planeta setting is a collection of unrelated short stories. The world and its themes are better conveyed in small glimpses, which are also much easier to write during the process of building out the setting itself.
Archive Works
In the past I have tried to undertake a few different, larger projects set in Astra Planeta. However, the process of building the world itself quickly led to problems with the
canonicity of these projects, and ultimately all of these prior works have been "Archived."
Name Origins
Αστρα Πλανητοι was the title given by the ancient Greeks to the visible planets in the night sky and the gods that embodied them: Στιλβών (Mercury), Ηωσφόρος (Venus as the morning star), Ἓσπερος (Venus as the evening star), Πυρόεις (Mars), Φαέθων (Jupiter), and Φαίνων (Saturn). Astra Planeta, as the title of the setting, alludes to both our future of interstellar exploration and our long history of stargazing.
The previous name of the setting was "the Diaspora." However, this name was rather generic, and in time the setting outgrew the meanings attached to it.
Astra Planeta is categorically hard science fiction, in that it adheres to the definition of the genre: the scientific and technological elements presented in the world’s canon are within the realm of what we consider possible with our current collective knowledge of science and technology. However, Astra Planeta breaks the mold of hard science fiction by being optimistic in three key ways: technological, social, and existential.
All three of these assumptions are crucial to the Astra Planeta canon, as their interplay forms the diverse interstellar near-utopia that is the United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition —which, of course, the setting centers on. Astra Planeta does not assume that the forces of nature are kind; the randomly catastrophic nature of the universe is the prime source of narrative conflict. But this setting stands as my monument to hope: a world that is better, but still interesting.
Technological Optimism
Astra Planeta is technologically optimistic in assuming that any engineering problem standing between humanity and efficient interstellar travel can be solved. Nuclear fusion, radiation shielding, wormholes, warp drives, nanotechnology, space habitats: all of the futuristic technology presented within Astra Planeta is scientifically possible, though certain parts are hotly debated in academic circle. But the rapidity with which we achieve these milestones is shamelessly optimistic.
Social Optimism
Astra Planeta is socially optimistic in assuming that humanity, as a global entity, can overcome (or at least overlook) the cultural divisions which set people apart and cooperate as a singular civilization. One of the keystones of the project is the thorough demilitarization of planet Earth and all her nations. Instilling a profound sense of human fragility into the global consciousness helped give the human race a sense of perspective: the only solace we have in the vast and indifferent universe is each other. This is how humanity finally reached the stars: together. Upon making contact with other sapient beings, we carried this lesson with us and did our best to befriend them. Astra Planeta operates on the principle that the Great Filter is the shedding of tribalism, and assumes that the human species is smart —and kind— enough to achieve this.
Existential Optimism
Astra Planeta is existentially optimistic in assuming that life is not rare in the universe at large, and thus there are not only dozens of worlds nearby which harbor biospheres but also several advanced, peaceable contemporary civilizations in close proximity. It breaks from expectation not only with first contact happening at all, not only with first contact going relatively well, but with multiple first contact events all going relatively well. It assumes that mutually intelligible communication is possible for all contact events, and that most contemporary civilizations share basic morals and aspirations with the human species. Astra Planeta does not posit that the clockwork of reality has a conscience and is merciful —it is often explicit in stating that the universe simply is what it is. What it does posit is that, however statistically improbable this may seem given our current level of understanding, the cosmos is practically teeming with life.
Goals & Intent
While Astra Planeta is intended to be a setting for various stories, this property is secondary. The key driving force behind my development of Astra Planeta is, quite simply, my abiding love of worldbuilding. Working on the setting is beyond simple joy; it is integral to my personal identity. Consequently, the thematic pillars of the setting are reflective of myself and my beliefs; embodying scientific curiosity, positive futurism, optimistic nihilism, and hope. In short, Astra Planeta is my love letter to both the cosmos and human nature.
Acknowledgements
Astra Planeta owes its existence and current state not just to myself, but to a great many other people whose support I am very grateful for, and here I will elucidate on some of them.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my darling datemate
River for their constant enthusiasm, encouragement, and unconditional affection. They shower me with praise, remind me to take care of myself, and catch the mistakes that elude me. They have been the light of my life for many years now, and I hope they will be forevermore. <3
I'd like to thank my family as well, for being supportive even if they don't always quite get what I do. Mom, I wish you could see this now.
Many thanks to the wonderful denizens of the Discord server which serves as my living notebook, most of whom are dear friends. Among these I'd like to highlight two people:
Enzo, a delightful person who is actually responsible for the existence of the
rimor and at least half the
crew of the Asteria; and the wonderful, inimitable
Elia Rowan, who asks great questions, makes great suggestions, and is an inspiration in novere own right! More friends who have contributed to the setting in various ways include James K., Wilde, Dee R., Leight V., Jason E., MidKnightBlu, Bloodclaw, Link K., Biliun, CTAntkeeper, Tullimonstrum, and FieryRobin.
Lastly, a big blob of gratitude for the dev teams and user communities of both WorldAnvil and
SpaceEngine: two critical components in the process of bringing Astra Planeta to life. Without these tools, ASP would be naught but words on a page.
Development
The origins of what would eventually become Astra Planeta can be traced to my discovery of
speculative biology as an art form at the age of 14. I had been creating creatures and worlds in my school notebooks for years already, but I had never thought it would be taken all that seriously by others. Then I joined DeviantArt —my first actual presence on the internet— and quickly discovered the incredible work of
Alex Ries. I was captivated by the birrin and their world, and felt inspired to create an alien world of my own with that level of detail and depth. This was the first incarnation of
Ra'na, and my first serious foray into worldbuilding and specbio.
Ra'na fell out of my favor for some years; I was focused on my other sci-fi setting,
Arcverse, at the time. However, things changed in late summer of 2017, when a friend of mine introduced me to
SpaceEngine. I spent days exploring the local stars, naming the procedurally-generated planets and recording them in a notebook. I began to wonder what the human future in this fictional version of our cosmic backyard might look like. Soon, idle speculation became active: I began to write a future history of human spaceflight —the now-archived
Wandering the Sky— and connected this new setting with the Ra'na project, re-naming the fusion "the Diaspora." From this point, the world grew rapidly, accumulating hundreds of star systems, centuries of future-history, and nearly a dozen sophont species. Over the years, Astra Planeta has changed considerably; I am proud of where it stands today and look forward to its continued evolution.
Artistic Notes
Most art assets in Astra Planeta were made by myself using Paint.NET, Krita, SpaceEngine, or a combination of these tools. This holds true for all images without specific outside credit. Credited assets are either Creative Commons content and/or displayed with the express permission of the creator(s).
This is a solid introduction, and I appreciate how much insight we get into the whys of it here. It's also a breath of fresh air to see more optimistic sci fi.
Thank you!! I agree, I'm a bit miffed by how much hard-SF is either grim or jingoistic, or frequently both. I want to make something that defies that trend!