Ithaca-Priam

Ithaca (sometimes known as Ithaca-Priam) is the fifth planet in orbit around the yellow star, Huang Long ("Yellow Dragon")--the primary star of the Georgia system.
Ithaca itself is the most populated world in the Georgia system with 800 million inhabitants. When Priam is included (and it usually is due to the proximity and voluminous interplanetary traffic) the combined population is over a billion people.
Trivia

The population of Ithaca by itself is more than the combined population of the entire Murphy system combined! (at just a little over 715 million; Hera come in at 377 million inhabitants)

Ithaca is the second most densely populated world in the Georgia system (after Conrad). However at only 29.47 people per square kilometer, it is still half that of Earth-That-Was in 2020, and comparable to Sihnon (30.07 per km²).
The second planet in the Georgia system (after Kerry) to be declared terraformed within the parameters acceptable enough for colonization, Ithaca-Priam soon established a relatively robust mining and manufacturing economy.

Geography

Astronomical Statistics

Important Note

The Ithaca-Priam system is a double-planet. i.e. the relative mass between the two bodies is similar, thus both orbit about a barycenter approx. 33,700 km from the surface of the larger mass: Ithaca. The distance between Ithaca and Priam (center of mass to center of mass) is 99,944 km.

Ithaca-Priam Barycenter

Mean Orbital Radius: 2.60 A.U. (388,954,462 km) [from Huang Long]
Orbital Period: 3.997 yrs (1,460 days)
Combined Mass of Ithaca-Priam: 1.461 ×10²⁴ kg = 0.245 E's (or 19.895 Lunar masses).

Ithaca

Diameter: 5,117 km (0.402 E's or 1.473 Lunar diameters)
Mass: 9.681 ×10²³ kg = 0.162 E's (or 13.186 Lunar masses).
Apparent Gravity: 1.0045 g
Land Area: 27,145,300 km² (33% of the planet's surface area)
Arable Land Area: 8,686,500 km² (standard terraformed 32% of the planet's land area)

Priam

Diameter: 3,640 km (0.286 E's or 1.048 Lunar diameters)
Mass: 4.926 ×10²³ kg = 0.082 E's (or 6.709 Lunar masses).
Apparent Gravity: 1.010 g
Land Area: 20,812,423 km² (50% of the planet's surface area)
Arable Land Area: 6,659,975 km² (standard terraformed 32% of the planet's land area)

Other Notable Facts

• Ithaca is about 1.97 times the mass of Priam.
• Ithaca and Priam both orbit their common barycenter once every 7.36 days
• A person standing on Ithaca looking at Priam directly overhead would see it take up about 2.14 degrees of arc in the sky, which is a little over four times the size of the Moon from Earth-That-Was. Someone on Priam looking up at Ithaca would see it take up about 3 degrees of arc, or six times the size of the Moon from Earth-That-Was.
• Before terraforming, Ithaca and Priam were tidally locked, meaning they always faced one another (i.e. Priam never appeared to rise or set in the Ithacan sky. It just appeared to stay in the same place). This natural locking was interrupted when the policy of "artificial spinning" was induced as part of all terraforming procedures in which every planet in the 'Verse would be induced with a secondary spin (or 'axis wobble') to simulate Earth-That-Was seasons and years.
• Priam's orbital incline is at 22.53°, so eclipses of one body on the other only happen twice an Ithacan year (about 729½ standard days) rather than every 7⅓ days!
• Despite meeting the minimum regulatory thresholds for colonization, locations on both Ithaca and Priam can experience gravitational anomalies. Inquire locally.
  • Ship pilots are advised to pay close attention to Ithaca-Priam orbital flight control (IPOFC). Fortunately, IPOFC has always been a very professional and reliable establishment, and they take their jobs very seriously.
  • Some of the stable gravitational anomalies have been turned into tourist attractions. The most famous is the Priam Skyjump where adrenaline junkies can find themselves hurling skywards in a reverse freefall for up to 300m before the artificial gravity net resumes and the "jumpers" switch to a parachute system to return to the ground. Others include Gravity Geyser and Point Null.

Notable Cities

Ithaca

1. New Vathy ✪
2. North Ionia
3. Ithakinisos
4. The Flats
5. Sodom
6. Fort Jian Shung

  Author's Tip

Check out the Linear B Bar in the charming little town of Kioni Bay!

Priam

1. Second Troy ✪
2. Helena
3. Lěngmò
4. Ṭūṭā hu’ā tīra

Ethnic & Cultural Influences

Ithaca and Priam were initially settled by a predominantly Greco-American and Sino-Greek community, most of which had worked on the terraforming crews for these planets. Other cultural influences include Anglo (part of the predominant Anglo-American presence throughout the Georgia system), Indonesian, East African, and a vibrant Indo-Nepalese community on Priam (notably in the city of Ṭūṭā hu’ā tīra). But hundreds of other cultures can be found all over Ithaca and Priam, considered one of the most diverse planets in the Georgia system.

The double planet of Ithaca-Priam has a barycenter well above the surface of the larger mass, Ithaca.

Alternative Name(s)

Ithaca, Ithica (often as misspelling), I-P

Type

Planet

Location under

Georgia System

Included Locations

• Barycenter Shipyards

Facts

• Population: 800 million (2512 Alliance census)
• Capital City: New Vathy
• Major Docks:
  • Barycenter Shipyards ^NOTE
  • Odyssey Docks, New Vathy, Ithaca
  • Fiaki Field, Ithaca
  • Venice Butte Docks, North Ionia, Ithaca
  • Paris Docks, Helena, Priam
  • Second Troy Starport, Second Troy, Priam
  
  
• Terraforming of Ithaca and its double planet companion, Priam, were completed in 2348.

Important Moons and/or Satellite Stations:

• Priam (moon/double planet): population 250,000.
• Barycenter Shipyards (orbital shipyards): population 3,200.

Ithaca is the home planet of Captain "Nate".

Story Tie-Ins

During the Unification War, Tom Beartooth is trained for zero-gravity transport repair, retrofit, and maintenance here (see the story, The Center of Gravity).