I've decided against using Beta Hydri as the star for the setting of my science fiction scenario, and switched to the more sun-like 82 Eridani. Using StarGen (http://www.eldacur.com/~brons/NerdCorner/StarGen/StarGen.html), a planetary system "modeler" of sorts (it generate planets based on data on the chosen star, or input data for fictional ones), I generated several system models. Here is the result I'm going with http://fast-times.eldacur.com/cgi-bin/StarGen.pl?Catalog=w&Dole=12&SolStation=12&Mass=0.97&Output=all&Seed=230&Count=1&Incr=1&Gas=on&Moon=off&SVG=off#10 (I checked the system out in GravitySimulator, and the eight planet, as I thought, was kicked out. So I've since removed this planet and will probably add an asteroid belt in it's place) I've modified the planet's information slightly for what I want (I also thought their eccentricity values were a bit too high for some of them.)
I chose 82 Eridani for several reasons. Firstly, it is relatively sun-like. It's a little cooler and a little dimmer, but otherwise seems like a good candidate to support life-baring planets. It has a high metalicity, which should give it a much higher chance at having formed terrestrial planets. Secondly, it is only 19.7 light-years away. Since there is no FTL in my science fiction scenario, this is very important. The ships used are based on the Valkyrie design (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3aj.html#valkyrie), which, while it requires absurd amounts of antimatter (For my story, I'm assuming that an affordable solution to generating and storing large amounts of antimatter is discovered in the next century or 2), could in theory be made to accelerate to nearly 90% c.
The system has 11 planets, one of which is habitable and fairly Earth-like. From my knowledge of planetary formation and mechanics, the current set-up I have looks fairly realistic. I've checked the current set up as well in GravitySimulator, and it seems to be stable over the long term with minimal shifting in the outermost planets. Here is the current .ssc:
Code: Select all
"Sharru" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "sharru.*"
NormalMap "sharru-normal.*"
Radius 2217.9
#Mass 2.4E+23Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 5.33
EllipticalOrbit {
Period .1835
SemiMajorAxis 0.323
Eccentricity 0.029
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 1634.07
Obliquity 25
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.07
}
"Ishtar" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "ishtar.*"
NormalMap "ishtar-normal.*"
Radius 1816.7
#Mass 1.3E+23Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 5.32
EllipticalOrbit {
Period .2625
SemiMajorAxis 0.410
Eccentricity 0.001
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 2339.83
Obliquity 24
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.07
}
"Qingu" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "qingu.*"
NormalMap "qingu-normal.*"
Radius 3450.3
#Mass 9.2E+23Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 5.36
EllipticalOrbit {
Period .4281
SemiMajorAxis 0.568
Eccentricity 0.0181
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 2639.18
Obliquity 12
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.07
}
"Tiamat" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "tiamat.*"
NormalMap "tiamat-normal.*"
NightTexture "tiamat-night.*"
SpecularTexture "tiamat-spec.*"
Color [ 0.85 0.85 1.0 ]
SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
SpecularPower 25.0
HazeColor [ 0.5 0.35 0.2 ]
HazeDensity 0.35
Radius 7433
#Mass 8.601984E+24 kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 5.50
Atmosphere {
Height 150
Lower [ 0.43 0.52 0.65 ]
Upper [ 0.26 0.47 0.84 ]
Sky [ 0.40 0.6 1.0 ]
Sunset [ 1.0 0.6 0.2 ]
# Sunset [ 0.3 1.0 0.5 ]
CloudHeight 7
CloudSpeed 65
CloudMap "tiamat-clouds.*"
CloudShadowDepth 1.0
Mie 0.001
MieAsymmetry -0.25
Rayleigh [ 0.001 0.0025 0.006 ]
MieScaleHeight 20
}
EllipticalOrbit {
Period .6301
SemiMajorAxis 0.735
Eccentricity 0.016
Inclination 0.0003
AscendingNode 348.739
LongOfPericenter 101.823
MeanLongitude 100.281
}
RotationPeriod 34.66
Obliquity 20
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.38
}
"Zaltu" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "zaltu.*"
NormalMap "zaltu-normal.*"
SpecularTexture "zaltu-spec.*"
Color [ 0.85 0.85 1.0 ]
SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
SpecularPower 25.0
HazeColor [ 0.5 0.35 0.2 ]
HazeDensity 0.35
Radius 5119
#Mass 3.1E+24Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 5.43
EllipticalOrbit {
Period 2.1258
SemiMajorAxis 1.007
Eccentricity 0.0029
Inclination 1.13
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
Atmosphere {
Height 50
Lower [ 0.3 0.62 0.75 ]
Upper [ 0.22 0.71 0.84 ]
Sky [ 0.31 0.64 1.0 ]
Sunset [ 1.0 0.6 0.2 ]
Mie 0.001
Mie 0.001
MieAsymmetry -0.25
Rayleigh [ 0.001 0.0025 0.006 ]
MieScaleHeight 17
}
RotationPeriod 19.19
Obliquity 17
EquatorAscendingNode 288.2
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.63
}
"Ninurta" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "ninurta.*"
Color [ 0.85 0.85 1.0 ]
HazeColor [ 1 1 1 ]
HazeDensity 0.3
Radius 21862.3
Oblateness 0.0034
#Mass 5.7E+25 kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 1.30
EllipticalOrbit
{
Period 2.3888
SemiMajorAxis 1.787
Eccentricity 0.0166
Inclination 0.0023
AscendingNode 348.739
LongOfPericenter 102.947
MeanLongitude 100.464
}
Atmosphere {
Height 100
Lower [ 0.43 0.52 0.65 ]
Upper [ 0.26 0.47 0.84 ]
Sky [ 0.40 0.6 1.0 ]
Sunset [ 1.0 0.6 0.2 ]
Mie 0.001
MieAsymmetry -0.25
Rayleigh [ 0.001 0.0023 0.0052 ]
MieScaleHeight 50
}
RotationPeriod 14.48
Obliquity 16
RotationOffset 259.5
Albedo 0.53
}
"Anu" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "anu.*"
Color [ 0.85 0.85 1.0 ]
HazeColor [ 1 1 1 ]
HazeDensity 0.3
Radius 83862.5
Oblateness 0.0443
#Mass 5.3E+27 kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 1.80
EllipticalOrbit
{
Period 10.2218
SemiMajorAxis 4.710
Eccentricity 0.0161
Inclination 0.0023
AscendingNode 348.739
LongOfPericenter 102.947
MeanLongitude 100.464
}
Atmosphere {
Height 150
Lower [ 0.43 0.52 0.65 ]
Upper [ 0.26 0.47 0.84 ]
Sky [ 0.40 0.6 1.0 ]
Sunset [ 1.0 0.6 0.2 ]
Mie 0.001
MieAsymmetry -0.25
Rayleigh [ 0.001 0.0023 0.0052 ]
MieScaleHeight 50
}
RotationPeriod 6.1
Obliquity 37
RotationOffset 259.5
Albedo 0.51
Rings {
Inner 141500
Outer 190140
Texture "anu-rings.png"
}
}
"Marduk" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "marduk.*"
Color [ 0.85 0.85 1.0 ]
HazeColor [ 1 1 1 ]
HazeDensity 0.3
Radius 72307.6
Oblateness 0.024
#Mass 2.1E+27 kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 1.19
Atmosphere {
Height 200
Lower [ 0.43 0.52 0.65 ]
Upper [ 0.26 0.47 0.84 ]
Sky [ 0.40 0.6 1.0 ]
Sunset [ 1.0 0.6 0.2 ]
# Sunset [ 0.3 1.0 0.5 ]
CloudShadowDepth 1.0
Mie 0.001
MieAsymmetry -0.25
Rayleigh [ 0.001 0.0023 0.0052 ]
MieScaleHeight 50
}
EllipticalOrbit {
Period 59.4009
SemiMajorAxis 15.224
Eccentricity 0.0097
Inclination 0.0018
AscendingNode 348.739
LongOfPericenter 102.947
MeanLongitude 100.464
}
RotationPeriod 8.21
Obliquity 36
RotationOffset 259.5
Albedo 0.54
Rings {
Inner 139679
Outer 150038
Texture "marduk-rings.png"
}
}
"Namtar" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "namtar.*"
NormalMap "namtar-normal.*"
Radius 4424.5
#Mass 8.1E+23Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 2.24
EllipticalOrbit {
Period 211.926
SemiMajorAxis 35.546
Eccentricity 0.0012
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 28.78
Obliquity 46
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.15
}
"Dagan" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "dagan.*"
NormalMap "dagan-normal.*"
Radius 5917.6
#Mass 2E+24Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 2.27
EllipticalOrbit {
Period 260.8107
SemiMajorAxis 40.821
Eccentricity 0.0013
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 24.75
Obliquity 14
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.15
}
"Allatu" "82 Eri"
{
Texture "allatu.*"
NormalMap "allatu-normal.*"
Radius 2761.9
#Mass 2E+23Kg
#Density (g/cm^3) 2.22
EllipticalOrbit {
Period 337.7738
SemiMajorAxis 48.501
Eccentricity 0.047
Inclination 2.17
AscendingNode 76.681
LongOfPericenter 131.533
MeanLongitude 181.979
}
RotationPeriod 36.58
Obliquity 32
EquatorAscendingNode 300.22
RotationOffset 137.45
Albedo 0.15
}When I'm "finished" (I really never am...I always have to go and tweak things...), I'll upload the file on the "Add-On Release" Forum. I still need to finish the moons for several planets, as well as some textures, asteroids, and other components that need a few finishing touches before it is ready for consumption.
Also, while it is still kind of bare-bones right now, the homepage of my scenario is here, for those curious: http://upbringer.webs.com/
) 
My apologies.
).
