World Name: Aldebaran

Reports From the Front

by William H. Keith, jr.

The following entry is an excerpt from The Navigator's Guide to the InnerSphere, the 32-volume compendium of explored worlds published by ComStar Press Interstellar, Terra. Aldebaran was first printed in Volume 5, The Mirach Reach, and is reproduced here by permission of the publisher.

STELLAR DATA
Catalogue #NSC C 1-294-302
Star: Aldebaran
Type: K5 111; Mass: 5 Sol; Luminosity: 320 Sol; Radius: 42 Sol

SYSTEM DATA
Planetary System: 7 major bodies, 4 asteroid belts

PLANETARY DATA
Planet V: Aldebaran V
Mean Orbital Radius: 9.885 a.u.
Orbital Eccentricity: .017
Period: 13.89 y
Mass: 1.2
Earth Equatorial Diameter: 13,555.27 km (1.06 Earth)
Mean Planetary Density: 5.517 g/CM3 (1 Earth)
Mean Surface Gravity: 1.06 G
Escape Velocity: 12.88 kps
Rotational Period: 28 h 53 m 45.5 s
Axial Inclination: 17 deg. 06'307'
Satellites: 1 (Planetoid-sized body at 42 planetary diameters)
Atmosphere: N. 75%; 02 24%; other 1%.
Atmospheric pressure .65 atm; PP02-156
Temperature Range: 50 deg. C.+ at equator (summer with starvariability at maximum luminosity) to -30 deg. C. at poles (winter with star at minimum luminosity).
Mean Distance to JumpPoint: Since Aldebaran is a giant star 5 times more massive than Sol, the zenith and nadir JumpPoints are correspondingly farther from the star than for lesser stars. The travel time to JumpPoint in the Aldebaranian system usually is calculated for a non-standard JumpPoint at close planetary conjunction and is generally no more than 4 to 5 days.
Planetary Population: 4.26 billion (est. 3025)

Planetary Notes

The star Aldebaran has long been known to Man. For centuries before Humanity's exodus from Earth, Aldebaran-Alpha Tauri-marked the red eye of the constellation of Taurus, a ruby-orange beacon 68 light years from Sol. Aldebaran seemed an unlikely prospect for habitable planets, an orange giant over three hundred fim more luminous and five times more ma::ive than Earth's sun, with a stellar radius which would engulf the orbit of the planet Mercury if Sol were replaced by Aldebaran in Terra's Solar System. First visited by the FTL ship Alliance Explorer in 2124, its surprising fifth planet was early ,marked as a likely target for human colonization.

Though somewhat warmer on average than Earth, Aldebaran V has a relatively moderate temperature, especially along the convoluted coastlands of its shallow seas. Its star shares to some degree the variability of many M- and K-class giants, but a combination of factors in the planet's orbit, inclination, and orbital eccentricity have conspired to moderate surface conditions. The equatorial regions are generally too hot to permit comfortable human habitation, though some cities have been carved out in the torrid zone under many meters of insulating rock. The north polar Saffron Sea, almost landlocked by the north continent, ameliorates north hemisphere conditions to a large degree and permits extensive agriculture and habitation along the continent's northern shores.

One of the oldest settled worlds in the Capellan Confederation, Aldebaran has a self-sufficient agricultural base and large, numerous, and important industrial and commercial facilities. Chouchu, a city on the north continent, is a major heavy manufacturing center of bearings, actuator assemblies, and macroelectronic parts exported to military defense and support centers throughout the Tikonov Commonality.

The Warrior House of Ijori maintains its Holdfast on Aldebaran's north continent and is responsible for the defense of this valuable world. In addition, several squadrons of AeroSpace fighters are maintained at well-camouflaged bases across the planet.

Because of its strategic location and industrial importance, Aldebaran V has been the target of Davion and Marik raids for centuries, and both continents are dotted with the scarred ruins of cities fought in and burned over time after time. Despite raids and deep-space strikes, however, Aldebaran has continued to modestly expand its industrial capability over the past several decades, and it remains a tempting target to any willing to challenge the elite 'MechWarriors of Warrior House Ijori for the prize.

News from the Front

Back to BattleTechnology 6 Table of Contents
Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com