SA Course: Planets and Stars

I may never come back, and I just want someone to know. This article contains text from a former Shadow Academy course. It is no longer in use, and is preserved here for historical purposes only and should not be used/referenced.

Course Description

This course provides you with more detailed information about important planets and stars in the Galaxy.

Course Notes

Introduction

Greetings students, take a seat and pay attention.

The galaxy has approximately 400 billion stars, of which 180 billion have planets that can support life. In this course we will cast a closer look to these stars and planets. You will be tested at the end of this class session so be sure to document as much as you can on your datapads.

Stars

As you might have noticed during your travels throughout the known galaxy, stars come in a variety of colors. These colors are not just "show" but indicate the warmth of a certain star. From the color of a certain star, we can deduce a number of things. Fear not, I am transferring this data to your datapad as we speak. Take a look.

Star Types
Type	Color	Example	Lifespan	% of stars	% habitable	# habitable known
O	blue	Garnib	<1 million	1%	10%	100 million
A	White	Colu	10 million	1%	10%	100 million
F	Yellow-White	Ropagi	4 billion	1%	10%	100 million
G	Yellow	Corellia	10 billion	4%	50%	2 billion
K	Orange	Yavin	60 billion	15%	25%	3.75 billion
M	Red	Barab	>100 trillion	70%	1%	700 million
[-]	non-main sequence	[-]	various	10%	5%	500 million

As you can see, 70% of the stars in the known galaxy are red dwarfs, they live pretty much forever but they"re awfully faint and cold for life. Do the math and you wind up with about 7.1 billion habitable stars in the known galaxy, that is about 3.2 billion habitable systems.

If you study the data carefully you will n1tice that 10% of the stars are labeled as non-main sequence stars. I know you must all wonder what this means, but it is very simple. There are 2 pre-main sequence stars: the brown dwarf and the protostar. Aside from these there are 3 post-main sequence stars: the red giant, the blue giant and the red supergiant. Aside from these you also have "compact stars": the white dwarf, the black dwarf, the neutron star and last but not least, the black hole.

We will not talk about non-main sequence stars in this course because of the very fact that they hold little importance in Galactic affairs.

Planets

There are a great number of individual planets in the known galaxy, we will direct our time today only to very few of them. Below is a listing of several planets that have played key roles in the galaxy, whether through important figures originating fromt he planet, or through the planet itself. Each of these planets have played a role in the galaxy and has made it what it is today.

Each planet will have its statistics listed along with a short history. Do your best to understand and learn these statistics.

Alderaan

• Terrain: Forests, Plains
• Diameter: 12,500km
• Length of Day: 24 standard hours
• Length of Year: 364 local days
• Population: 2 billion
• Sentient Species: Human
• Species mix: Human (95%), other (5%)
• Language: Basic
• Government: Democracy
• Major Exports: Wine, art, luxury goods
• Major Imports: Manufactured goods, electronics.
• System/Star: Alderaan/Alderaan
• **Destroyed**

The peaceful, idyllic world of Alderaan was destroyed in an instant by the planet-shattering laser of the Death Star, the greatest atrocity of the Galactic Civil War that offered no shortage. The Death Star"s superlaser left being an asteroid field called "the Graveyard", orbited by the remains of Alderaan"s moon. Many Alderaanian exiles visit the Graveyard to pay their respects to these murdered by the Empire, a ritual known as "The Returning".

Coruscant

• Terrain: Urban Cityscape
• Diameter: 12,240km
• Length of Day: 24 standard hours
• Length of Year: 368 local days
• Population: 1 trillion
• Sentient Species: Human
• Species mix: Human (78%), other (22%)
• Language: Basic
• Government: Republic or dictatorship (depending on era)
• Major Exports: Culture
• Major Imports: Foodstuffs, medical goods
• System/Star: Coruscant/Coruscant

Though Coruscant is not the literal center of the galaxy, in terms of its political, economic and cultural influence (not to mention its galactic coordinates of 0-0-0), it might as well be. In murky pre-history, this proud planet once served as the battle ground between the proud Taungs and the human tribes of the Battalions of Zheli. With the withdrawal of the Taungs, the human tribes came into sole possession of the world, and urbanization soon followed. By as early as 90,000 BBY the Galactic City had already stood layer upon layer.

Due to its position at the head of several hyperspace routes, it became the capital of the emerging Galactic Republic. Urbanization continued at a furious pace. Soon after, no point on the surface remained free from construction, save for the peaks of the Manarai Mountains.

High above, weather satellites and orbital mirrors simulate a spring time climate; deep below the undercity became a haven for cannibalistic mutants.

The Legislative District housed senators from across the galaxy; with its nexus the mushroom dome of the Senate Chamber.

Dathomir

• Terrain: Forest, desert, mountain
• Diameter: 10,460km
• Length of Day: 24 standard hours
• Length of Year: 491 local days
• Population: 5,200
• Sentient Species: Human
• Species mix: Human (97%), other (3%)
• Language: Basic, Paeccian
• Government: Tribal
• Major Exports: Labor
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Dathomir/Domir

Notorious among spacers for its two primary exports - rancors and witches. Though the planet boasts stunning natural beauty, nothing can overcome its reputation as a place of animal savagery and dark magic. Dathomir"s varied terrain includes green forests and yellow deserts, tumbling waterfalls and oozing tar pits. To those sensitive in the Force, its atmosphere seems to crackle with life energy.

Hapes

• Terrain: Cities, forests, mountains
• Diameter: 12,254 km
• Length of Day: 22 standard hours
• Length of Year: 240 local days
• Population: 8 million
• Sentient Species: Humans (Hapans)
• Species mix: Humans (100%)
• Language: Hapan, Basic
• Government: Hereditary matriarchy
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: Foodstuffs, high technology
• System/Star: Hapes/Hapes

The capital of the isolationist, female-ruled Hapes Cluster, Hapes is a beautiful world of lush forests, soaring mountain ranges and impeccably clean cities and factories. Hapes being Hapes, cultural traditions are not considered sufficient to guarantee that all be beautiful: Hapan law requires a degree of cleanliness that would be startling on nearly any other civilized world. Hapes is the cluster"s bureaucratic center: by law, all significant Hapan financial and business transactions must be performed on Hapes itself. As a result, the other sixty-two Consortium worlds maintain embassies on Hapes, as do most of the cluster"s major business entities.

Ilum

• Terrain: Snow, mountains
• Diameter: 5,870 km
• Length of Day: 66 standard hours
• Length of Year: 1,078 local days
• Population: None
• Sentient Species: None
• Species mix: Not applicable
• Language: None
• Government: None
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Ilum/Asar

The icy globe of Ilum once counted itself as one of three worlds (alongside Ossus and Tython) of sacred importance to the Jedi Order. Crystals mined from Ilum provided the power for Jedi lightsabers, giving the weapons their signature glows of green and blue. The earliest lightsaber crystals came from adega, a world near Ossus and the Perlemian Trade Route. The three most common varieties - kathracite, mephite, and pontite - are still referred to as Adegan crystals. Around 22,800 BBY a Jedi scout followed the Force"s pull to reach a point almost impossibly deep in unexplored space. Ilum sat framed in the forward viewports when the scout opened his eyes, and the planet"s crust burst with kathracit, mephite and pontite. The mystical experience gave Ilum a place of prominence in the evolving codex of Jedi rituals.

Korriban

• Terrain: Mountains, canyons, dry riverbeds, tombs
• Diameter: 16,890 km
• Length of Day: 28 standard hours
• Length of Year: 780 local days
• Population: Historic: 9.6 billion; current: none
• Sentient Species: Historic: Sith
• Species mix: Historic: Sith (94%), other/slaves (6%); current: not applicable
• Language: Historic: Sith, current: none
• Government: Historic: magocratic dictatorship; current: none
• Major Exports: Sith artifacts (black market)
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Horuset/Horuset

Korriban, the original home world of the Sith species, is a cold world of crying winds and dry, rocky fissures. Hundreds of canyons, their cliff faces marked with grim statues and honeycombed with winding tomb passages, make up the planet"s infamous Valley of the Dark Lords. The few creatures that live on Korriban, including airborne shyracks, dragon-scaled hssiss, and Sith hounds (tuk"ata), are said to derive sustenance directly from the Dark Side of the Force. Some spacers even claim that Sith alchemy can animate corpses and that Korriban zombies sometimes polish off unlucky freighter crews.

Tatooine

• Terrain: Desert
• Diameter: 10,465 km
• Length of Day: 23 standard hours
• Length of Year: 304 local days
• Population: 200,000 (estimated)
• Sentient Species: Jawas, Tusken Raiders
• Species mix: Human (70%), Jawas (5%), Tusken Raiders (5%), other (20%)
• Language: Basic, Jawa, Tusken, Huttese
• Government: Local councils
• Major Exports: Minerals, illegal goods
• Major Imports: Foodstuffs, metals, chemicals, technology
• System/Star: Tatooine/Tatoo I and II

A vast yellow globe baking the heat of its twin suns, Tatooine was mistaken for a star by early explorers of the Outer Rim - and in the scorching heat of high noon, locals joke that those explorers weren"t so wrong. Life on Tatooine is a study in perseverance, but despite the inhospitable conditions, there is life here. Jawas, hooded rodent-like scavengers, scour Tatooine"s wastes for scrap they can salvage. Primitive desert warriors called Tusken Raiders wander the desert, abiding by ancient tribal traditions. Herds of eopies root for buried lichen, rock warts hunt for prey, and an unlucky traveler may hear the booming cries of the semi-legendary krayt dragon. And there are more recent arrivals: Humans, Hutts and all manner of spacefaring species.

Zonama Sekot

• Terrain: Rain forests, mountains, rivers
• Diameter: 11,000 km
• Length of Day: Varies
• Length of Year: Varies
• Population: 2 million
• Sentient Species: Yuuzhan Vong, Ferroan, Langhesi
• Species mix: Yuuzhan Vong (80%), Ferroan (8%), Langhesi (3%), other (9%)
• Language: Yuuzhan Vong, Ferroan
• Government: Elected meritocracy
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Varies

Zonama Sekot is one of the most bizarre sights in a galaxy of wonders. Capable of hyperspace travel, this rogue planet wanders the space lanes under the guidance of its own self-aware intelligence. The green sphere is believed to have originated in the home galaxy of the Yuuzhan Vong, grown from a seed of the species" original homeworld, Yuuzhan"tar. Zonama Sekot crossed the intergalactic void and settled in the Outer Rim, its tangled jungles of bora trees providing an inviting habitat for exotic and barely glimpsed fauna.

Brotherhood systems

The Brotherhood controls a set number of systems, some fall under the general rule of the Council, while others are directly controlled by the numerous clans and houses. For information on the systems controlled by your clan or house, please refer to the holocron system. I am uploading specific planets to your datapads as we speak.

Antei (Brotherhood Capital)

• Terrain: Mountains, barrens
• Diameter: Unknown
• Length of Day: 24 standard hours
• Length of Year: 365 local days
• Population: 3.1 million
• Sentient Species: Historic: Sith; current: Humans
• Species mix: Humans (100%)
• Language: Basic
• Government: Elected oligarchy
• Major Exports: Cortosis, electrum
• Major Imports: Foodstuffs
• System/Star: Antei/Antares and Ante

Judecca (Scholae Palatinae)

• Terrain: Jungles, mountains,
• Diameter: 12,470 km
• Length of Day: 27 standard hours
• Length of Year: 344 days
• Population: 57,4 million
• Sentient Species: Syrei, nomads
• Species mix: Unknown
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Exports: Education, archaic artifacts, exotics
• Major Imports: Weapons, ores, foodstuffs
• System/Star: Judecca/Cocytus

Kapsina (Plagueis)

• Terrain: Mountains, barrens
• Diameter: Unknown
• Length of Day: 38 standard hours
• Length of Year: 194 days
• Population: 27.3 million
• Sentient Species: Humans, Myrsei
• Species mix: Unknown
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Imports: Lumber, foodstuffs
• System/Star: Kapsina/Jusadih

Karufr (Taldryan)

• Terrain: Grasslands, mountains, forests
• Diameter: 13 km
• Length of Day: 25 standard hours
• Length of Year: 365 days
• Population: Unknown
• Sentient Species: Humans
• Species mix: Humans (100%)
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Exports: Unknown
• Major Imports: Unknown
• System/Star: Karufr/Kr’Tal

New Tython (Odan-Urr)

• Terrain: Variable
• Diameter: 9,645 km
• Length of Day: 21 standard hours
• Length of Year: 389 days
• Population: 600 million
• Sentient Species: Humans, Harakoans, Mon Calamari, various others
• Species mix: Unknown
• Language: Basic, Harakose
• Government:
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: New Tython/Yhi

Salas V (Revan)

• Terrain: Variable
• Diameter: 12,470 km
• Length of Day: 29 standard hours
• Length of Year: 328 days
• Population: 2.3 million
• Sentient Species: Kiliks, Humans
• Species mix: Humans (99%), Kiliks (1%)
• Language: Basic
• Government: Local councils
• Major Exports: Ore, gems, exotic woods
• Major Imports: Foodstuffs, equipment
• System/Star: Salas V/Salas

Selen (Arcona)

• Terrain: Oceans, plains
• Diameter: 13,200 km
• Length of Day: 28 standard hours
• Length of Year: 454 days
• Population: 3 million
• Sentient Species: Selenians, Humans
• Species mix: Unknown
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Selen/Dajorra

Sepros (Naga Sadow)

• Terrain: Forests
• Diameter: 12,460 km
• Length of Day: 36 standard hours
• Length of Year: 470 days
• Population: 1,000
• Sentient Species: Humans, Wookie
• Species mix: Humans (100%)
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Exports: None
• Major Imports: None
• System/Star: Sepros/Orian

Yridia II (Tarentum)

• Terrain: Oceans, islands
• Diameter: 12,800 km
• Length of Day: 27 standard hours
• Length of Year: 344 days
• Population: 4,7 million
• Sentient Species: Humans, Various others
• Species mix: Unknown
• Language: Basic
• Government:
• Major Exports: Foodstuffs
• Major Imports: Ores, medicine, technology
• System/Star: Yridia II/Yridia

Conclusion

These are just a few of the planets throughout the galaxy. Now that you’ve taken a look at some of the most well know planets in the Galaxy, and most important planets in Brotherhood space, it’s time to take your exam.