What if we added Proxima b to the OTU?

[Tom Kalbfus]

How might this planet affect the timeline of the OTU? Since we already have Prometheus, what if another nearby star also had another habitable planet. Proxima Centauri is too close to Alpha Centauri to have its own separate hex, but suppose the ESA colonized Prometheus and the United States decided to take Proxima b, a habitable planet orbiting the red dwarf, it is tidal locked to its primary, so there is a habitable zone on the dayside of the planet.

 

[Reynard]

Proxima and Alpha Centauri are an interesting combination as they are close yet far apart. Many Traveller world generation systems with extended generation have Proxima at Far orbit, still part of the system in that hex but a long way off. I see no issue to make it unique as a separate possible habitable system. That's what unique is all about. Another one of those stellar anomalies.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

Proxima and Alpha Centauri are an interesting combination as they are close yet far apart. Many Traveller world generation systems with extended generation have Proxima at Far orbit, still part of the system in that hex but a long way off. I see no issue to make it unique as a separate possible habitable system. That's what unique is all about. Another one of those stellar anomalies.

What's a good name for the planet? I don't think they would call it Proxima b, maybe "Twilight" as that would be the portion of the planet they would inhabit. The high noon portion would be too hot. The Sun would stay motionless above the horizon. It is not literally the twilight zone, the glaciers from the far side protrude over into the day side and melt, and between the glacial front and the region where it is too hot. The Sun appears red when filtered through the atmosphere, as it starts pale orange in the first place and only gets redder the closer it is towards the horizon. The light one gets in the habitable zone of "Twilight" is similar to the light one gets on Earth when the Sun is touching the horizon at twilight, though a bit brighter than that. the typical Twlighter home has the bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the Sun and has shuttered window, often on timers which automatically retract to let in daylight when its time to get up. The sky is blue on Twilight, though it is a darker shade of blue than on Earth, the plant life has a darker shade of green than most plants on Earth as well. The far side of the planet is covered with a huge ice sheet, there is a weather zone around the terminator of the planet where it snows, and ice pushes across the terminator to the day side where it melts, further across the day side the clouds precipitate out, towards the cold pole there is dry ice snow.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Maybe just call it Proxima?

It would still be in the same hex as Prometheus but since it is less habitable, would not be listed as the "main world". In my settings, there are often secondary worlds within the hex that only show up on the detailed maps.

All the way back to LBB5 (Scouts), there was the idea of secondary colonies in a system - even when the stars are thousands of AU apart (like here).

I don't think it changes the OTU setting much, just gives it more depth and color.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

Maybe just call it Proxima?

It would still be in the same hex as Prometheus but since it is less habitable, would not be listed as the "main world". In my settings, there are often secondary worlds within the hex that only show up on the detailed maps.

All the way back to LBB5 (Scouts), there was the idea of secondary colonies in a system - even when the stars are thousands of AU apart (like here).

I don't think it changes the OTU setting much, just gives it more depth and color.

It is a bit out of the way, might be a rebel stronghold. You think the Imperium would bother to occupy that as well as Prometheus? The star it orbits may be small, but the planet itself is not! Its about 10% larger than Earth! We'll assume the inhabitants must deal with 1.1-g of gravity as well, so they will tend to be stockier and more muscular of frame than the average human. There is no much UV coming from Proxima either, they will tend to have pale skin. The sun itself is the color of a wood fire, it has a cheery orange glow in a dark blue sky.