Aurelia
Posted on Fri Nov 7th, 2025 @ 3:12pm by Commodore Sureth
Expanded: Aurelia — ready to drop into your story
Designation (fictional in-universe): NGC-6530a-17b — called Aurelia by colonists.
Location relative to Lagoon: Orbiting a K-type pre-main-sequence star inside the NGC-6530 cluster, about 2.1 light-years (fictionalized) from the bright central cavity of the Lagoon — close enough that the nebula colors dominate the night sky, but far enough to avoid the most intense O-star shredding.
Star: K3V-like young star, mass ~0.8 M☉, age ≈ 2–5 million years (very young). Still has residual accretion activity; frequent UV flares and strong stellar wind episodes. Star nicknamed Lagus-17 by surveyors.
Orbit & physical stats
Planet mass: ~1.05 M⊕ (Earthlike gravity ~1.02g).
Radius: ~1.03 R⊕.
Semi-major axis: ~0.95 AU (in the star’s habitable zone given it’s a slightly cooler star).
Orbital period: ~350 Earth days (roughly a year in-story).
Rotation: ~26 hours (day length similar to Earth).
Axial tilt: ~18° (milder seasons than Earth).
Atmosphere: Nitrogen–oxygen dominated with elevated ozone patching from frequent UV; faint sulfur traces from volcanic regions.
Surface & climate
Continental layout: three major continents and several island arcs. Large shallow inland seas with dark, iron-rich silt (from the nebular dust).
Sky: The nebula is visible even daytime as a diffuse, red-pink haze along the horizon; at night the sky is awash in pinks, greens, and diffuse emission lines — so constellations are nebular patterns rather than distant pinpoints. Auroras are frequent due to magnetic interaction with the star’s winds and nearby hot stars.
Weather: Rapid, violent storms near the equatorial seas caused by stellar flare heating; clear, crisp winters on high plateaus. Volcanic belts create local sulfurous weather and acid-tolerant microclimates.
Biosphere
Young, opportunistic: microbial mats, hardy lichenoid plants, and rapidly evolving fauna in ecological niches near geothermal vents. The ecosystem is patchy and niche-dominated — many extremophiles.
Photosynthetic life uses pigments tuned to the nebular spectrum — plants appear bronze or blue-green rather than deep green.
Complex multicellular life exists but is localized; no old, stable megafauna — perfect for frontier contact or discovery narratives.
Hazards & special conditions
UV flares: periodic strong UV bursts force inhabitants to shelter; long-term effect: higher mutation rates leading to rapid evolution and occasional local epidemics of novel pathogens.
Dust storms: from the nebula’s remnant particulate, occasional planetary storms carry fine, metallic dust that interferes with sensors and electronics.
Radiation belts: stronger than Earth’s but manageable with technology and natural magnetosphere.
Culture / settlement hooks
The Shimmer Cities: translucent domed settlements built to take advantage of nebular vistas while shielding from UV. Domes use local silicate glass (iridescent due to iron content).
Ozone-Priests / Skywrights: a faction that interprets nebular aurora patterns as omens — good for rituals, politics, or espionage.
Resource angle: rich in rare nebular silicates and preplanetary organics (valuable for biotech or starship fuel synthesis). Mining claims are hotly contested between corporations, independent prospectors, and scientific enclaves.
Frontier tension: colonists live on a tight schedule of sheltering for flares; diplomacy with neighboring systems is complicated by radiation-induced mistrust and rapid cultural change.
Scientific plausibility note (to keep readers immersed): Aurelia sits in a young cluster whose stars still host protoplanetary disks. Planet formation there is plausible and fast; because the star is K-type and slightly cooler, the habitable zone is tighter but stable enough for a temperate world despite the cluster’s chaos. The nebula’s glow and local dust are realistic embellishments.
Visual & sensory details you can drop in a scene
“At dusk the western sky bled a slow, living pink, like ocean light trapped beyond the atmosphere. The Shimmer City’s domes reflected that glow as if the city were a pocket of nebula itself.”
“When the flare sirens sounded, everyone moved under the molecular shutters; even the streets folded like petals as the city sealed against the rush of ultraviolet.”
“Children chased phosphorescent plankton along the acid-tolerant shores until the sky swallowed them in pink haze; fishermen cast nets that came up glittering with dust like milky stardust.”
Category: Sim Announcement
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