Hard SF Worldbuilding Cookbooks 3 Rogue Planets

For my family: Full of love, as complex as it is!
My thanks to Martin Page for nagging me to actually do this, being my sounding board, teacher, and the
enormous amount of general input he’s given to every part of this series. To my wife Carine for believing
in and supporting me (and for the snacks). To Jennifer and Major Wolfe for very patiently teaching my
stubborn self about social media
Hard SF Worldbuilding Cookbook #3: Rogue Planets
(1st Edition)
Dr John Freeman
Self-published in the United Kingdom
© John Freeman 2021
The Hard SF Worldbuilding Cookbook #3: Rogue Planets
is in copyright. Subject to satisfactory exemption and
to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no
reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of
Dr John Freeman
First published 2021
eBook and paperback edition prepared by DriveThruRPG.com community content program
DriveThruRPG.com is a trademark of OneBookShelf or its affiliates.
1
Contents:
Introduction: 5
How to use this booklet: 6
What we (probably) won’t know about rogue planets for decades or centuries: 7
Locations in interstellar space: 8

Section contents: 9
Section introduction: 10
A note on galactic directions: 10
Galactic nucleus (central bulge and surrounding region): 11
Spiral arms/Galactic disk: 12
Local intergalactic space: 13
Globular clusters: 14
Open clusters: 15
Nebula: 16
Basic rogue planet tropes: 17

Section contents: 18
How to use this section: 19
A note on internal heat, and why rogue planets don’t always freeze: 20
Zombie Rogues (ZR): Worlds that have been dead for billions of years but are still wandering. 21
Dying Rogues (DR): Worlds that are mostly dead - but where a few habitable niches may survive. 23
Cryptic Rogues (CR): Worlds with habitable subsurface oceans under inhospitable surfaces. 25
Habitable Rogues (HR): Worlds with habitable surfaces under thick, insulating, atmospheres 27
Modifiers: 29
Hypervelocity rogues: 29
Double rogue planets: 29
Carbon world: 29
Rogue gas giant planets - and their moon systems: 31

Section contents: 32
Layout of a gas giant’s moon system: 34
Core system: 34
Main system: 35
Outer system: 36
Water moon tropes: 37
Ice moon tropes: 39
Volcanic moon tropes: 41
Habitable surfaced (gas dwarf) moon tropes: 43
Asteroid or comet-like, non spherical, moon tropes 45
2
Gas giant tropes and their moon families: 47
A bit of explanation of radiation belts, and how they relate to rogue gas giant planets: 49
General notes: 50
An average human is… 50
Mass vs gravity for solid worlds: 50
Ring systems, antimatter mines and collection methods: 51
Size vs mass vs gravity for gas giant planets: 53
Planets can heat their moons with just their gravity… 53
Gas giants vs brown dwarf 'sub-stars': 53
Gas giants vs ice giants: 54
Glossary of terms: 55
Radiation countermeasures for space vehicles passing through radiation belts: 55
Deflectors: 55
Barriers: 55
Other kinds of radiation hardening: 56
Impact countermeasures for spacecraft: 56
General terms: 57
Equations used: 61
Introduction: 61
Further reading: 64
3
4
Introduction:
Space, like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy says, is big. Really big. In fact, compared to the vast, cold,
wastes between the stars, the oases of light and warmth stars make for planets like ours to orbit in are
the tiniest fraction of the universe - like floating candles, separated by vast stretches of dark Antarctic
ocean. When a planet gets thrown out of it’s solar system by something it’s truly lost: No star will appear
as more than a point of light, and the odds of it getting recaptured by another solar system at all, never
mind on a stable orbit, are minute. Some rogue planets are even natives to the interstellar dark - formed
independently, from the same cloud of dust and gas that was birthing stars all around them. Those
wanderers have never known a sun’s warmth, and likely never will.
Does that mean all lost worlds are dead balls of ice and rock, spinning into a glum eternity?
No. Not quite.
True: They’re never going to make great vacation spots, other than to some niche crowd looking for two
weeks of stygian darkness*. But being dark doesn’t have to make them dull - after all, our own Earth has
enough internal heat to have powered volcanic activity, which supports life that's independent of the
Sun, for billions of years. Add a really thick, insulating, atmosphere and you might have a world warm
enough for life to survive, even as it wandered interstellar space. The space around, and views from,
rogue worlds may not be as dull as you might expect either: Rogue planets with moons in their skies,
even entire moon systems, are possible - and a world with a really big moon would feel tidal forces (see
page 53) powerful enough to heat both their cores, keeping their volcanoes glowing. A gas giant could
warm an entire system on close packed moons this way - a miniature solar system evolving in darkness.
And the variety of rogue worlds is thought to cover gas giants, ice covered ocean worlds, mere balls of
rock and worlds with surfaces that could support life beneath super-thick atmospheres. Both the
background starfields and radiation levels vary quite a bit around the galaxy too - from the brilliant, rad
spitting, pulsar studded skies of the galactic core to the utter darkness and isolation of intergalactic
space. in other words there’s plenty for your characters to explore, puzzle over, be put in mortal danger
by, or perhaps even call home...
* Having seen the internet I have no doubt that such a crowd exists however.
5
How to use this booklet:
To keep things consistent we’ve broken creating a rogue world, whether a frozen dwarf planet or a
seething lava ball, into three steps: Defining the planet itself, modifying it, and deciding where in the
galaxy to place it. While the first two might be the most immediate concern for any given scene or
gaming session, the second will determine how the world fits into the wider universe, or campaign. The
way we suggest proceeding is:
1. Go to the contents section for the 'Tropes' (p 18), which lists some useful, basic, tropes for a
wandering interstellar planet. Each of the tropes are divided into sub tropes, and so is presented
as a table followed by notes. Each entry on a table gives a basic description of a sub trope:
Surface conditions, visuals, likely experiences, hazards and countermeasures. The notes provide
more depth.
2. Following the basic tropes are a series of ‘modifiers (p 29)’, which can be added to any trope to
give it an unusual property - for example the ‘carbon world’ modifier makes the planet a
super-hard ball of diamond and carbides, with oceans of oils instead of water.
3. Once you have your sub-trope set up, look at the types of interstellar space (p 8) section, which
will give a visual description and technical details (E.G radiation levels) for each region of the
galaxy.
The exceptions to this are moons of rogue gas giants - these have a seperate section starting on page 31,
as a world that is a gas giant’s moon can be part of a system of many moons, following the giant through
space. For how to generate a moon of a gas giant see page 33.
Rogue planets can plausibly turn up in any part of the galaxy, as they wander for billions of years. That
said, there are neighbourhoods that certain tropes tend to be more likely in: All tropes are equally likely
to be found in the galactic core (p11), spiral arm (p 12), nebula (p 16), and open clusters (p15). Only gas
giant planets are common in globular cluster (p14), where the elements for rocky or icy planets are rare.
All tropes are rare - but not impossible - to find in intergalactic space, since everything’s rare out there.
After the tropes and modifiers are some general notes covering things like what hitting a solid object
(from tiny dust grains up to boulders) will do at various real-space spacecraft speeds, and how increasing
a terrestrial planet’s mass increases its surface gravity. Lastly comes the glossary, titles and links to some
of the scientific source materials that make for useful further reading, and any equations that might be
of use to the really detail oriented.
For those reading through this booklet in order: The various regions of interstellar space are presented
first, to provide context for the rogue planet tropes themselves, then the tables of tropes, then the
modifiers - using the document that way offers a chance to take a more completist, top down, approach.
6
What we (probably) won’t know about rogue planets for decades or centuries:
If you had something different in mind, location or trope wise, from what’s in the tables don't worry -
this subject has lots of wriggle room as what we know, or can reasonably infer, is so limited. Some of the
most significant question marks for rogue planets are:
How many are there in our galaxy?

Depending on which model of planet growth you use, and where you put the size limits for ‘planet’,
estimates run from 50 billion to 20 thousand trillion. Planned space telescopes may narrow the estimates
in the next 20 years, but a truly precise count is a long way off.
Where’s the nearest?

There’s a lot of scope for roughly Earth-sized (or smaller) wandering planets to be closer to us than the
nearest star and have remained undetected, as their frozen surfaces emit no light and little infra-red.
Are there intergalactic rogues?

It's an open question whether rogue planets mostly stay within our galaxy, or stray into intergalactic
space: They might get a long way from their usual haunts if they...
● Have a slingshot encounter with a giant black hole or large star, giving it a higher than normal
speed.
● Are very ancient and have had more time to wander
● Have been propelled by the blast of a kilonova, supernova, hypernova, gamma ray burster - in
which case they’ll be badly damaged.
What fraction of them have moons, or are double planets?

Being thrown out of a solar system is traumatic for a planet and its moon(s). Moon systems of ice and
gas giants, bound by stronger gravity, would keep together more easily. Around 5% of worlds like Earth
might, in principle, hold onto theirs - but all we have are simulations.
Radiation environments:
These depend on location in the wider galaxy. A combination of telescope observations and computer
models can provide best-guess figures. But only four spacecraft have even reached local interstellar
space to take measurements - so those best guesses, which are used in the ‘locations in interstellar
space’ section (p 8), are only that.
How long have they wandered?

How old a rogue world was when it went rogue, and how long it has been rogue, can heavily impact its
current state: A whole planet takes time to cool, so an Earthlike world might remain borderline habitable
for weeks, even months, depending on how fast it’s leaving its home system. A world with a thicker,
more insulating, atmosphere might keep its heat longer than that - and, if it is already old enough to
have developed life, that life might get time to adapt. On the other hand a world that has been
wandering for ten billion years might well have cooled all the way to its core, becoming entirely inert.
If you’d like to build something more unique you might find the general notes (p 50), equations used
(p61), and further reading (p 64) sections helpful.
7
Locations in interstellar space:
8
Section contents:
A note on galactic directions: 10
Galactic nucleus (central bulge and surrounding region): 11
Spiral arms/Galactic disk: 12
Local intergalactic space: 13
Globular clusters: 14
Open clusters: 15
Nebula: 16
9
Section introduction:
This section contains descriptions of the different types of interstellar space in, and immediately around, our
galaxy. There are some general rules influencing where you're more or less likely to get different types of
wandering planet:
● How likely planet sized objects are to form.
● How likely they are to be expelled from any star system they’re part of.
● How far they’re likely to have wandered over the lifetime of a galaxy.
A spiral galaxy like our Milky Way has 3 general areas: The teeming galactic nucleus (p 11) in the centre of the
galaxy, the spiral arms (p 12) where star systems are less crowded, and the sparsely populated local intergalactic
space (p13) beyond the edge of the spiral arms. Scattered throughout these general areas are small, seperate zones
that have their own rules: Nebula (p 16), open star cluster (p15), and globular star cluster (p 14).
A note on galactic directions and coordinates:

The system astronomers use to map our galaxy consists of a direction from Earth and a distance. The direction is
defined by galactic latitude and galactic longitude:
● Galactic Longitude: Point towards the galactic centre. Track left along the galactic plane until you are pointing
in the direction (on the plane) of your target - the number of degrees you turn to do so is its galactic longitude.
● Galactic Latitude: Measured in degrees, from 0 to 90, with 90 degrees pointing toward galactic north or
galactic south, and 0 degrees pointing at the midline of the galactic disk.
○ Galactic North is the direction perpendicular to the galactic disk that points roughly in the direction of
the Coma galaxy cluster, which appears to be in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices from Earth.
○ Galactic South is 180 degrees from Galactic North, pointing roughly towards the Sculptor dwarf galaxy
which appears in the southern (from Earth) constellation of Sculptor.
So, to find a galactic latitude of 45 degrees north, after pointing to the galactic latitude, tilt your arm towards
the north by 45 degrees - that’s the 45 degrees longitude.
You’re now pointing along a unique direction, and to make that direction into a coordinate position you just need
to specify a distance in that direction. So your coordinates would be: 60 deg longitude, 45 degrees north (the
direction), 200 light-years.
10
Galactic nucleus (central bulge and surrounding region):
Description: The central bulge of the Milky Way's spiral and the region closely surrounding it, the galactic nucleus
is made of stars of all ages, star clusters, and nebulae. Stars are under half a light year apart on average, dropping
to only 2 light weeks near the very centre. The biggest and brightest are either huge, ancient, red stars or clusters
of bright, young, blue stars. Its centre is Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central black hole, weighing 4,300,000 Suns.
Age: One of the Milky Way's oldest neighbourhoods, producing stars for 12 - 13 billion years.
Dimensions: Two 'bars’ between 3000 to 15,000 light year long project from the central bulge, and twist at their
ends to become the spiral arms. As there’s no clear boundary between central bulge and bars the nucleus has an
overall peanut shape, rather than being spherical, with the long axis measuring between 16,000 and 40,000 light
years long, and the short axis being about 10,000 light years long.
Visuals and temperature: From a world inside the nucleus the visible stars would range from Venus' brightness to
that of a full moon. Total sky-brightness is similar to sunset on a cloudy Earth day - enough to read comfortably by.
The bright, close clustered stars stop anything outside the bulge being visible to the eye. Interstellar temperatures,
while far below freezing, are warmer than the near-absolute-zero common elsewhere in the galaxy, and vary
depending on the proximity of the nearest stars..
Radiation levels Variable across the bulge, but background levels would be much higher than in Earth’s
neighbourhood: Around 10 Rad / hour for an average human (see the ‘effects of radiation’ table p 49). This is
possible to shield against (see glossary of radiation countermeasures p 55).
Hazards: Stellar corpses: Supernovae, occurring once or twice a century, have left the region teeming with the
black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, magnetars (see glossary for descriptions p57) they spawn. Frequent stellar close
encounters: These make planetary orbits unstable, although red and brown dwarf systems with their close orbiting
worlds would be somewhat resistant. Radiation: This is from flare stars, and the supermassive black hole
Sagittarius A* burping out intense radiation as it eats stars. Sagittarius A*: A swirling doughnut of superhot gas -
from destroyed stars and planets - surrounds the behemoth black hole for ½ a light year. The hole itself is as big as
a small solar system.
Opportunities: Fast travel times between the close packed solar systems, abundant sources of energy, and lots of
sources of exotic physics to accelerate science towards advanced technologies.
11
Spiral arms/Galactic disk:
Description: The arms of the spiral. The average distance between stars is 4 - 5 light years, less in nebulae and star
clusters. Encasing it above and below is a very flattened spheroid of widely spaced, old, stars - the 'thick disk'.
Surrounding that above and below is a ring of stars and gas, with a radius of 80,000 light years: The Monoceros
ring. The disk has 4 distinct arms, only 2 of which are connected to the central bulge, and which branch, and
interconnect. There are numerous partial arms and spurs (the Sun is located inside the ‘Orion-Cygnus’ spur). The
disk is not perfectly even, with asymmetric ripples and twists.
Age: Around 9 billion years - but with a few stars over 12 billion, suggesting some regions are older..
Dimensions: 75,000 light years in radius, 1,000 thick near the edge, 10,000 near the centre.
Visuals and temperature: The view from a rogue planet in a spiral arm would be like a very dark, clear, night sky
on Earth - because our solar system is in a spiral arm. Nearer stars are brighter points, red, blue, or white in colour,
and nebulae are visible as small smudges of light. The disk itself is visible as a rough, very broad, band of faint fuzz
(resolvable as countless distant stars under a telescope), wrapped around the dark sky. The band bulges, with gaps
where dark nebulae (see page 16) block it's light, in the direction of the galactic core. It’s possible to make out
some things beyond our galaxy: South of the plane of the galaxy the Magellanic Clouds - smaller galaxies that orbit
the Milky Way - are visible as fuzzy patches. The Andromeda galaxy is also visible, somewhat north of the disk: It’s
as wide as the full moon, but much, much fainter - a dim, elliptical, fuzz with a star-like centre.
Radiation levels: Beyond the protective magnetic field of a star levels can reach 1.5 Sv/year or about 0.1 rad/hour
(without shielding), increasing the long term risk of radiation related illness (such as cancer) by around 5%. Larger
worlds may have their own protective magnetic fields, muting these levels.
Hazards: Supernova: While very infrequent, one within 200 light years of a world can damage ecosystems for
millenia. They produce zones of particle radiation that can last for tens or hundreds of thousands of years, and
leave wide gaps in the interstellar gas, becalming interstellar ramjet type engines (see glossary p 57). Interstellar
material: Dust impacts can also endanger vessels travelling at high sub-lightspeeds (see the kinetic impact table on
p52). Striking gas atoms at such speeds creates particle radiation. Both dust and gas strikes are more likely in a
nebula, (described in detail on p16 and p52).
Opportunities: Although the star systems here average 4 light years apart there are double, triple and quadruple
star systems only light months or days across. This layout can make smaller interstellar civilizations safer from
hazards, without compromising internal travel.
12
Local intergalactic space:
Description: Beyond the main galactic disk (and the surrounding thick disk) lies the galactic halo - ancient stars,
hundreds of light years apart, spread in a rough ball out to 130,000 lightyears. Beyond that is the vast emptiness of
intergalactic space, dotted with dwarf galaxies. Between and beyond those are stars, planets, star clusters and even
nebulae, lost to any galaxy, with many thousands of light years between them. Travel far enough and you’ll reach
the cosmic voids. Even gas atoms are rare out there.
Age: 13 - 14 billion years old.
Dimensions: N/A
Visuals and temperature: The main light source would be the galactic nucleus, a fuzzy edged blob of a billion
stars – from just beyond our galaxy it’d be comparable to a full Moon. Around it would be a misty, almost invisible,
swirl. That’s the galactic disk: It's virtually see through to the human eye, which is pretty common for spiral
galaxies. For example: The Andromeda galaxy’s spiral arms are bigger than a full Moon, as seen from Earth. Ever
noticed them? It’s core is visible as a star-like point, but the arms are too dim. From local intergalactic space you'd
have to block out the core with your hand to really see the spiral arms, and the cores of other galaxies would even
be visible through them.
Radiation levels There’s not thought to be much radiation out there. At most you’d get a similar radiation level to
the spiral arm. That would divide by 4 with every doubling of the distance to the galactic core.
Hazards: Isolation: Loneliness, extreme isolation, even just the psychological effects of living under a sky so utterly
empty. Lack of resources: Chances for resupply or repair - even collecting solar energy or raw gas for fuel - will be
rare. Lack of support: One serious mishap could leave you stranded so far from help that your distress signal might
not be heard until long after you’re dead.
Opportunities: The extremely empty space presents unique opportunities: A real-space ship can hit higher speeds
without impact hazards (see table p52), and it allows faint signals to travel super-long distances (10,000+ lightyears)
that would be blocked by gas and dust, or drowned out by stellar emissions, inside a galaxy. A sensor platform
there, orbiting our galaxy, could monitor large areas, populations, space weather, wars or disasters, search for
resources, relay communications, be a reference point for navigation, and a zillion other things - while hard to spot
and protected by distance.
13
Globular clusters:
Description: Spherical clusters of hundreds of thousands of ancient, red, stars only light days apart. Most GC’s
closely orbit the galactic nucleus, and are poor in planet forming elements. Brown dwarfs (see Gas giants vs brown
Dwarfs, p53,) will also be somewhat rarer in one. However, while GC planets are rare, they do exist: The oldest
planet ever discovered - nicknamed the Methuselah planet - is located near the core of a globular cluster.
Age: Globular clusters are the oldest galactic areas, at over 13 billion years old.
Dimensions: Although they don't have a hard boundary, globular clusters usually have most of their stars within 30
light-years of their centre - though this can be as little as 3 light years, or as much as 100.
Visuals and temperature: The sky of a globular cluster world would be as bright as Earth's sunset, even at
midnight. The light would be orange-white: Every star is a red giant or red dwarf, and from the cluster's centre
nothing would be visible beyond the glare. On the edge nearest the galactic nucleus you’d see a vast, glittering wall
of stars: The orange-white globular cluster would fill half the universe, and the rest of the galaxy would cover the
other. The temperature in interstellar space would still be far below freezing, but it would be significantly warmer
than for an interstellar world in the spiral arms.
Radiation levels: Higher than in Earth’s neighbourhood, with humans taking doses around 5 Rad / hour if
unshielded in free space. That’ll mean radiation sickness, a greatly increased risk of radiation related illness (e.g.
cancer), and increased noise / glitching in unshielded electronics. Most humans will recover from shorter
exposures, but longer stays - days to weeks - will kill. However this radiation level can be shielded against (see
glossary, radiation countermeasures, p55s) with physical barriers such as ice or rock, planetary atmospheres, or
electromagnetic fields.
Hazards: Black hole swarms: Thousands of black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, magnetars, and white dwarfs gather
in the cluster’s central light year, separated by only light days. Flare stars: Endanger vessels and worlds (see
glossary p57 for descriptions). Stellar near misses: These are common, disrupting planetary orbits: Red and brown
dwarf systems have better chances, having much tighter planetary orbits, as will systems on the less crowded
cluster edges. Heat: Near the heart of the cluster temperature regulation would become a problem, as keeping a
safe distance from giant stars becomes difficult. Gravity: As they contain such vast numbers of stars the gravity of a
globular cluster is huge, which makes them difficult to escape by real-space travel.
Opportunities: There’s little dust in GCs, so ships can hit high real-space speeds without needing as much
protection from impacts (see impact damage table p52). Particle radiation from striking atoms of gas at high speeds
is still a danger (see glossary, radiation countermeasures, p55). Solar energy will be plentiful, although fission fuels
(uranium, plutonium etc) will be rare and dispersed. Exotic objects in the central light year - such as neutron stars -
offer natural laboratories for extreme physics. Travel time between star systems and wandering worlds would be a
fraction of that within the galactic disk.
14
Open clusters:
Description: These consist of a few hundred or thousand stars, born from one nebula. Distances between stars
average under 1 light year, but are greater than the light-days within globular clusters (see above, p14). Newborn
open clusters are often hidden inside their birth nebulae, and made of protostars. Young open clusters contain all
stellar types, from tiny red dwarfs to unstable blue giants prone to supernova. Old open clusters (over a billion
years) are rare, as most open clusters eventually disperse, but do exist and are safer than their younger relatives:
The giant, unstable, stars have long since gone supernova or otherwise died.
Age: Open clusters range from only a few hundred thousand years old, to billions.
Dimensions: Open clusters consist of a dense core, 3 to 4 light years across, with a corona of less closely packed
stars extending to 20 light years. Core stars are only light months apart, corona stars 2-3 light years.
Visuals and temperature: Young clusters contain super-bright blue stars: Daylight-visible, shining equivalent to at
least several full moons each. In older clusters, where the blue stars have died, the survivors range up to the
brightness of Venus, many casting shadows. Even in older clusters the bright foreground stars will tend to outshine
those beyond, but as open clusters have fewer stars than globular clusters the rest of the galaxy won’t be blocked
entirely: Bright stars beyond the cluster will be visible, and telescopes would easily discover the fainter stars making
up the Milky Way in the background. Temperatures in young clusters may be hazardous (see hazards below).
Radiation levels: Vary with a cluster's age and the location inside it. Deep in large, young, open clusters the
radiation may reach 100’s of rads per hour (see radiation table, p49, for effects). Older clusters, and the edges of
younger ones, will have levels similar to the galactic disk, which can be shielded against (see above p12).
Hazards: Big, unstable, stars: Near the core of young clusters these produce powerful stellar winds, gigantic flares
and particle storms which wreck microchips and DNA. Noise on all wavelengths will interfere with sensors. Those
stars make heat regulation harder for ships, and warm planetary climates. Supernova: Supernovae within lethal (25
light years) range may occur every 50,000 years in a young cluster, instead of every 100 million years in the spiral
arms, increasing background radiation, and creating magnetars, neutron stars, black holes and pulsars (see
glossary, general terms p57). Interstellar material: Dust and gas will be relatively dense in young clusters: Hitting
dust at speed can be damaging (see kinetic impact table p52) and gas atoms cause radiation showers (see glossary,
radiation countermeasures p55, for shielding). In old clusters stellar winds have dispersed the gas and dust.
Opportunities: Travel is faster between open cluster stars than those in the rest of the spiral arms. Human
habitable worlds, orbiting old-cluster stars, are possible once the supernovae are done - open clusters have the
needed planet forming elements. Denser interstellar gas could enable ramscoop starship engines (see glossary,
general terms, p57) - these are impractical near the Sun as the interstellar gas is too thin. Ships might brake against
the ionised gas using huge superconducting hoops.
15
Nebula:
Description: Nebula are regions where the thin interstellar dust and gas is either collapsing to form stars and
planets or being spat out by them. We can roughly divide them into planetary nebulae (clouds of dust and superhot
gas from dying stars) and star birth nebula (regions where interstellar dust and gas is compressed to form stars).
Age: Planetary nebulae mostly disperse within 100 thousand years. Star birth nebula (often called emission nebula
if lit by stars,or dark nebula if unlit) )often last for millions, or even billions, or years.
Dimensions: Planetary nebulae are seldom more than 10 light years across, but star birth nebula can be
thousands. Planetary nebulae often occur inside star birth nebula, and quickly mix with their bigger cousin.
Visuals and temperature: You’ve seen stunning telescope images of nebulae, but a telescope is tens of millions
of times more powerful than an eye - so a nebula close up won’t look like that. True it’d get brighter as you
approached, but it’d also spread wider over the sky, as would its light. These effects cancel out: It gets visually
larger but never much brighter. Not all nebulae glow: Those without large stars to heat them are dark instead.
Within one you'd see stars within hundreds of light years clearly. Beyond that stars would fade out, and in places be
obscured by knots of denser material (within which it would be dark). Most of a nebula is a calm, faint haze,
changing over centuries but, where something is stirring it up, it can be spectacular and fast shifting: Think a
mega-scale aurora, with something blue hot, weird, and radioactive in the middle - a neutron star, black hole
accretion disk etc. Temperatures mostly similar to interstellar space in the disk.
Radiation levels: The nebula material will deaden particle radiation, gamma, and X-rays, giving low radiation zones
(0.1 - 0.5 rad/hour). However some nebula objects, E.G. supernova remnants, create pockets with levels of over
100 rads/hour.
Hazards: Nebula material: Even ultra thin nebula gas and tiny dust grains are dangerous at the speeds spaceships
would need to cross one - 5% of lightspeed at least (see the kinetic impacts table, p52). Ships will need radiation
countermeasures (see glossary p55) and engines powerful enough to counter the 'headwind' of nebula gas. T-tauri
stars and Protostars: Very young, unpredictable stars which experience massive flares, abrupt changes in intensity,
and powerful stellar winds. Protoplanetary disks: Vast disks of matter, from dust to mountain sized chunks. In
places these are combining into protoplanets, and close packed - think the asteroid field from Star Wars: The
Empire Strikes Back. Supernova remnants: These come in a number of varieties (see glossary, general term p57).
One rule applies to all of them: Don’t get close.
Opportunities: Although the (relatively) dense dust and gas in such a region poses problems for high speed travel,
it also offers opportunities: The gas of nebula makes for a useful fusion drive fuel source, making technologies such
as ramscoop engines much more practical.
16
Basic rogue planet tropes:
17
Section contents:
A note on internal heat, and why rogue planets don’t always freeze: 20
Zombie Rogues (ZR): Worlds that have been dead for billions of years but are still wandering. 21
Dying Rogues (DR): Worlds that are mostly dead - but where a few habitable niches may survive. 23
Cryptic Rogues (CR): Worlds with habitable subsurface oceans under inhospitable surfaces. 25
Habitable Rogues (HR): Worlds with habitable surfaces under thick, insulating, atmospheres 27
Modifiers: 29
Hypervelocity rogues: 29
Double rogue planets: 29
Carbon world: 29
18
Defining all the kinds of rogue planets that could possibly be out there, and all the conditions they could
exist under, would take several weighty tomes in itself - several weighty tomes that need to be written at
some point in the future, as right now (2021 A.D. for any future historian who’s dug this up) humankind
has only the most tentative detections of any rogue planets, and few confirmed details on them. As a
result, to keep this meaningful and to a sane length, the scope is restricted to tropes that are plausible
physics-wise and fairly likely (according to our best models of planet growth) to actually form. That
means the tropes listed come with a few assumptions: That the concentration of radioactive (and so
heat producing) elements is broadly similar to Earth's, that these planets are fully formed and out of
their hot and violent infancy, that impact rates will be very low (as the density of space debris is much
lower in interstellar space), and that they formed naturally within a star system or a giant planet's moon
system. Giant planets and their moon systems are dealt with in the next section, as giant planets can
form independently of a star. If you want to build more unusual rogue worlds you entirely can. As
described in ‘What we won’t know for decades (p7)’ our knowledge of rogue worlds is often only
theoretical. For example: Asteroid sized (say 350 km radius) worlds with Earth-like gravity are technically
possible: A ball of iridium, osmium or other rare super-dense elements. Planet growth models offer no
likely way one might form - but there’s no actual evidence they don’t.
How to use this section:

That still leaves us with a lot of potential worlds to wade through so, rather than expect readers to
memorise several dozen entries worth of data, there’s a procedure for generating rogue planets in
plausible parts of interstellar space:
1. Using the 'section contents' page above, pick out a rogue planet trope. Each trope page has a
table of sub-tropes, an outline of each sub-trope's environment, and technical details like mass,
radius, and gravity.
2. With your trope picked you can apply ‘modifiers’ (listed in the...um.. modifiers section starting
p29) to give the planet extra characteristics - for example the ‘hyper velocity’ modifier makes the
planet extremely fast moving and more likely to be from elsewhere in interstellar space.
3. Once you have your trope set up, look at the types of interstellar space (p8) section, which will
give you a description of visuals and technical details (E.G radiation levels) for each region of the
galaxy.
NB: Habitable in this context means capable of supporting life generally, whether it does so or not, and
not limited to human beings in particular - so an ocean world with an atmosphere poisonous to humans
but breathable to other life would count as habitable.
19
A note on internal heat, and why rogue planets don’t always freeze:
The volcanism of our own Earth, as well as countless volcanoes on neighbouring worlds, shows that
planets have internal, sun-independent, heat sources. The major one, unless a planet is very young, or
recently got hit with something very big, is heat from the decay of radioactive elements in its core. How
much heat this generates depends on how big the core of the planet is, and how concentrated those
elements are. How well the heat is retained depends on how much insulating stuff lies over the core.
How easily the heat melts any ice present depends on what the chemical composition of that ice is, i.e.
does it contain any chemicals with an antifreeze effect. Some combinations of these factors are more
likely to crop up than others but, while weak compared to the fusion energy sources in stars, the right
combination can keep liquid water flowing and life-type chemistry ticking over beneath the surfaces of
worlds far smaller than Earth, for billions of years - even if they’ve never felt the touch of sunlight at all.
20
Zombie Rogues (ZR): Worlds that have been dead for billions of years but are still wandering.
Variant and basic details* Visuals and experiences: Likely planet mass range (Earth masses, ME) , Hazards Countermeasures
ZR1: Rock ball: Orbit view (if illuminated): An expanse of rock, pocked with craters on ●
Vacuum ● Artificial light
Formed too near it’s star to have much every scale. May have solidified lava lakes, volcanic cones and old ●
Darkness ● Habitats built similarly
water or other low temperature tectonic features. May have multi-billion-year-old ice deposits, made of ●
Landslips to spacecraft,
materials, ejected soon after. Too small frozen primordial atmosphere, or volcanic gas (E.G. CO2 or N2) from the ●
High background adapted for some
to still be geologically active or keep a last eruptions - even enough to make ice sheets. radiation. gravity.
thick atmosphere. ● Cryogenic ● Bury habitats, both
Surface view (if illuminated): A landscape of different toned grey rock, temperatures for insulation,
Mini mass/radius: 0.00004 ME/200 km covered in fine dust. The dust may have coloured patches - orange, ● Lack of native radiation and
green, black - due to tiny beads of volcanic glass mixed in. Frozen power - no solar, meteorite protection.
Max mass/radius: 0.1 ME/3000 km primordial atmosphere may be coloured red, pink or brown by traces of no geothermal, ● Mining for fissionable
organic compounds. no wind. materials.
Gravity: 0.02g to 0.4g ● Fusion power.
Weather: None - no atmosphere to speak of. ● Mapping of geology
Like? Vesta, modern Moon to select stable
Life? No native life. Might be colonised for resource extraction. locations
ZR2: Volcanic rock ball: Orbit view (if illuminated): As for 1, but may have low-level volcanism As for ZR1, plus: As for ZR1, plus:
Similar to ZR1, but big enough for and quakes. Surface features show signs of erosion by wind. Limited ice ● Quakes and ● Geothermal power
periodic geologic activity, fading with deposits may be present - Likely due to volcanic gas (E.G. CO2 or N2). volcanoes - even ● Constant monitoring
time. Lacking water or carbon to stable locations of geologic activity.
support Earth-type life. Surface view (if illuminated): A desert of rocks and dust. Frozen may not stay
volcanic gas may be present, coloured pink, red, brown or even black safe.
Min mass/radius: 0.01 ME/1500 km by trace organic compounds. Light sources are rare, and mainly from ● No solar power,
volcanism. but some
Max mass/radius: 0.1ME/3000 km geothermal
Weather: Atmospheric density varies with volcanism, from mere traces energy.
Gravity: 0.12g to 0.4g of gas to Mars-like. May, at its densest, support wind and dust storms.
Like? Earth's Moon 2 billion years ago. Life? No native life.
ZR3: Ice-ball: Orbit view: A huge ball of cratered ice, perhaps with a few chasms or As for ZR1, plus: As for ZR1.
Formed of ice and rock, far from its star, rilles from ancient cryo-volcanism. Not likely to be pure white - stained ● Unstable ice
ejected young. No volcanism, or thick by pink organic impurities surfaces.
atmosphere. No antifreeze compounds.
Surface view: An endless expanse of broken and pulverised ice, frozen
Min mass/radius: 0.00001 ME /250 km hard as rock - like Earth's Moon but a much lighter grey. Ancient
tectonic features - ridges, chasms, chaotic terrain - may survive.
Max mass/radius: 0.1 ME /4000km
Weather: None
Gravity: 0.01g to 0.2g
Life: None - possibly simple life preserved in the ice from ancient
Like? Mimas, Tethys epoch
*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)
21
Zombie rogue notes:
These are the tropes with the lowest minimum mass, and therefore are (probably) the most common.
Those chiefly made of metals and rocks are likely to have higher gravity and lower radius for a given
mass. Worlds of low temperature materials like H2O ice, or CO2 ice, are likely to have a less gravity and
greater radius for a given mass. Their surfaces will be extremely ancient, although less cratered than a
similar world in a star system, and may preserve galactic history by trapping cosmic radiation, and
interstellar dust. Radiation levels will vary with location in the galaxy (see ‘types of interstellar space,
p7’), but are possible to shield against.
Even worlds dead for billions of years often have had millions of years with some internal heat. In rocky
worlds that would have meant volcanism, and a volcanic-gas atmosphere. Icy worlds might have had
habitable subsurfaces, which froze within a billion years - perhaps enough time for simple life to arise.
Heat may linger near the core of larger examples, possibly enough to power extremely rare quakes or
minor volcanism.
NB: All rogue planet tropes are more-or-less equally likely to be found in the galactic core (p11), spiral
arms (p12), nebula (p16), and open clusters (p15). Only gas giant planets are common in globular
clusters (p14), where the elements for rocky or icy planets are rare. All tropes are very rare - but not
impossible - to find in intergalactic space (p13). That said, rogue planets wander more or less forever,
and so can end up almost anywhere.
22
Dying Rogues (DR): Worlds that are mostly dead - but where a few habitable niches may survive.
Variant and basic details* Visuals and experiences Hazards Countermeasures
DR1: Formerly habitable surface Orbit view: Ice plains with chaotic terrain, faults, ridges, and ‘lobate’ ● Possible eruptions ● Map geologic and
Surface froze after ejection. May have features from subsurface water erupting. Reddish organics in the ice. of mud and water tectonic activity by
enough heat, insulating ice and/or Craters are rare, and distorted. Over the water ice may be the frozen (cryo-volcanism) unmanned drones
antifreeze (e.g. ammonia) for buried atmosphere, (solid CO2, nitrogen, methane, etc). May retain some ● Icequakes ● Search and rescue
water oases to persist, which make them atmosphere, supporting high altitude hazes or clouds that partly obscure ● Landslips procedures similar
crossover with a CR1 world (p25) as they the surface. ● Higher background to avalanches
become more habitable, and ZR3 worlds radiation. ● Radio distress
as they become less. Quakes or Surface view: Endless buckled and distorted ice, with veins of brown or ● Cryogenic beacons
cryovolcanic activity still occur. red organics. Mountains of rock may poke above the ice surface, which temperatures ● Bury habitats, both
has ridges, valleys, ice-mountains and cryo-volcanoes. Signs of minor ● No solar power, for insulation,
Minimum mass/radius: 0.1 ME /3000 km recent geologic activity: E.G. occasional eruptions of mud or brine onto little wind. radiation and
the surface. meteorite
Maximum mass/radius: 3.5 ME /9000 km protection.
Weather: Ongoing cryovolcanic activity may supply a very thin nitrogen ● ‘Imported’ power
Gravity: 0.3g - 1.2g or methane atmosphere. Traces of primordial hydrogen atmosphere supplies, mining for
may be present. Methane or nitrogen frosts and snow may form. Winds fission or fusion.
Like? Mars (if small), Snowball Earth (if may blow ices into sandstorm-like features, but will be rare.
larger)
Life: Subsurface life is possible, but limited by available geothermal
energy.
DR2: Formerly habitable subsurface Orbit view: As for 1 but most geologic features will be ancient. May As for DR1, plus: As for DR1:
A habitable subsurface froze as the core retain traces of primordial hydrogen atmosphere. ● Near vacuum
cooled. Too little insulating ice or ● Lack of native
antifreeze compounds for subsurface Surface view: As for 1, but most features will be extremely ancient, little power - no solar,
water with current internal heat - small recent activity. no geothermal, no
oases kept liquid by antifreeze wind.
compounds (e.g. ammonia). Crosses over Weather: Traces of primordial hydrogen atmosphere may be present,
with ZR3 worlds (p21) as becoming less and could support hazes of ice crystals, but winds will be very slow,
habitable, and CR1 worlds (p25) as without solar energy to drive them.
becoming more.
Life: Subsurface life is possible, but will be limited by available
Min mass/radius: 0.00015 ME /500km geothermal energy.
Max mass/radius: 0.1 ME/3000km
Like: Martian poles, Ceres,
23
Dying rogue notes:
These are worlds with substantial water ice, mostly frozen solid, but with small habitable oases kept
liquid by volcanism or natural antifreeze deposits - see ‘A note on internal heat’ (p20). However the oasis
of DR world's are fading - these worlds are littered with the remains of those (often much larger)
habitats that are already dead. There can be crossover with ZR worlds (see above), where all significant
oases have been extinguished, with only microbes preserved in ice, or clinging to some
microenvironment, remaining. DR worlds are similar in structure to CR worlds, with a rocky core covered
by a very deep icy mantle, but on average the core contains less heat producing radioactive material for
a given planetary mass. Icy worlds with masses above 4 ME (Earth masses) are thought to accumulate
gasses fast enough to become gas giants or gas dwarfs, and so are treated separately (see 'Habitable
Rogues’ (p27) and ‘Gas Giants’ (p31).
N.B: All rogue planet tropes are more-or-less equally likely to be found in the galactic core (p11), spiral
24
Cryptic Rogues (CR): Worlds with habitable subsurface oceans under inhospitable surfaces.
CR1: Ice, covering major lakes. Orbit view: A planet wide expanse of ice. Craters are few. Ridges, chasms, jumbled ● Near vacuum ● Habitats built
Many sub-ice bodies of water or and chaotic terrain caused by stresses in the ice will be present. Plumes of water atmosphere. externally like
mud, warmed by volcanism, may break through the ice.. ● Higher background spacecraft, but
insulated by km to 100’s of km of radiation. adapted for gravity.
ice, or bearing antifreeze Surface view: The ice sheet stretches unbroken in all directions. Above the lakes ● Cryogenic ● Bury habitats for
compounds. may be ridges, chasms, and ‘chaotic terrain’ (where the ice is broken into large temperatures insulation, and
blocks separated by chasms). Larger worlds of this class may be covered in a layer ● Lack of native radiation
Min mass/radius: 0.0002 ME/450 of CO2 or nitrogen ice - the atmosphere, frozen. Cryovolcanoes, erupting water, power - no solar, protection.
km (at lower limit must have a high water-ammonia, or water-salt mixtures may form. no wind, ● Mapping of
fraction insulating ice to rock, geothermal hard to geologic and
and/or abundant antifreeze (e.g. Weather: Atmosphere of thin gas (water, CO2 or nitrogen vapour) emitted by access.. tectonic activity
ammonia) volcanism. Precipitation is limited to these gasses freezing out into layers of frost. ● Cryovolcanic ● Search and rescue
No seasons. Traces of primordial hydrogen atmosphere may persist. eruptions procedures as for
Max mass/radius: 3.5ME/9000 km ● Unstable ice arctic terrain.
Life: Limited life is possible in the subsurface, around oasis. surfaces ● Personal radio
Gravity: 0.01g to 1.2g ● Avalanches distress beacons
Like? Ceres, snowball Earth
CR2: Ice covered global ocean. Orbit view: As for 1, but with even fewer craters, and ice-stress/tectonic features As per CR1 As per CR1
Ice covered ocean or mud layer covering the whole surface.
warmed by volcanism, insulated by
km to 100’s of km of ice. May Surface view: The ice sheet stretches to the horizon, in all directions. There may
contain antifreeze (E.G. salts) be ridges, chasms, and ‘chaotic terrain’ where it is broken into large blocks
separated by chasms across the planet. Otherwise, as for CR1.
Min mass/radius: 0.0015 ME/500
km (needs high water/rock fraction, Weather: As in CR1
antifreeze)
Life: Limited life is possible in the subsurface ocean, most densely near volcanic
Max mass/radius: 3.5 ME/9000 km hot spots.
Like? Pluto, Charon, Hauema
25
Cryptic rogue notes:
These worlds consist of a substantial rocky core, overlain with varying depths of ice - from mere patches
to global coverage of hundreds of km. Even those that have been mostly dead for billions of years can
hide small regions of borderline habitability, where ice and heat meet. Whether a still-warm, ice covered
world has a global ocean, or just a few oasis, depends on its mass (bigger = more geothermal heat), the
availability of antifreeze compounds (e.g. salts, ammonia, perchlorates*), and the depth of insulating ice.
Generally, ice and mass are the deciders:
● A world made with less % water than Earth might need 4+ Earth masses to form the 3.5 km deep
ice layer it’d need to warm and insulate a global ocean. Such a world's gravity would pull in so
much gas in its youth that it would become a gas giant, or gas dwarf (see Habitable Rogues
below)
● A world with the same water % as Earth and weighing 3 Earth masses could form the 7km deep
ice layer it would need for a subsurface ocean.
● A world with 10 x Earth’s water % might only weigh 0.3 Earth masses, still produce enough heat,
and form the 30km thick layer of insulating ice it’d need.
● A world with 100 x Earth’s water % could form the 100km thick ice it would need, and produce
enough heat for a global ocean, at only 0.1 Earth masses.
The right combination (high water fraction, high heat output, high antifreeze) can allow even dwarf
planets to sustain a subsurface ocean or mud layer for billions of years, such as on the dwarf planet
Ceres. Worlds weighing more than 4 Earth masses are likely to become small ice or gas giants, dissolving
any ocean into the mass of high pressure gas.
* E.G. magnesium perchlorate salt, which can keep water liquid down to - 70 celsius - but these are often toxic, demanding special adaptations
from life.
26
Habitable Rogues (HR): Worlds with habitable surfaces under thick, insulating, atmospheres
HR1: Massive atmosphere over Orbit view (if illuminated): Very similar to orbiting Venus, Neptune, or Uranus: Endless cloud, ● The bends on ● Pressure
ocean and land surface: possibly drawn into bands by the planet’s rotation. Will be visible in infrared, as thermal radiation increasing altitude. adaptation.
Seas and land, beneath an shines through the cloud layers. ● Hydrogen ● Ascend no faster
insulating high pressure atmosphere: than 1
hydrogen atmosphere Surface view: The majority of the planet is utterly dark - the stars are totally screened by thousands Explodes mixed with bar/minute
thousands of km deep of km of atmosphere. Illumination is limited to lightning and the occasional glow of molten lava O2 ● Nuclear powered
erupting to the surface. Uniform climate, aside from volcanic areas - no separate tropics, or cold ● Darkness. hot-hydrogen
Minimum mass / radius: polar regions ● Extremely high dirigibles.
0.6 ME / 5000km (core) surface pressure. ● Non-solar
9500km (atmosphere) Weather: The atmosphere may have multiple layers of chemically distinct weather - for example: ● Caustic ammoniated generator.
Upper: White, misty methane clouds. Brown organic hazes. -175 °C, 1 bar. 900 km/h winds. Middle: rain, hurricane force ● Appropriate
Maximum mass / radius: 20 ME White ammonia (caustic, string smell) and hydrogen sulfide clouds (Rotten egg smell at low levels, gusts, protective suits.
/ 18,000 km (core) 23,500 km which fades). -135°C, 10 bar. Low light. Lower: Clouds of ammonium hydroxide crystals, water ice, super-lightening, fist ● Advanced
(atmosphere) then water-ammonia drops. Up to 50°C, 300 bar. Dark, aside from lightning. Ground: Clear, 50°C+, sized hail. weather and air
1000 bar. Winds will be slow (around 5 km/hour), but carry much more momentum than on Earth. current
Gravity: 0.8g - 2.4g prediction.
Life: Some might roam the cold, desolate surface, but it would only thrive near volcanic hotspots. ● Advanced
Like? Exoplanet Kepler 138d Bioluminescence, sonar, smell, magnetic and electric fields, and other dark adaptations are likely. materials,
(unconfirmed) aerodynamics
HR2: Massive atmosphere over Orbit view (if illuminated): As per HR1 As per HR1, plus: As per HR1, plus:
desert surface: As for HR1, but ● Dehydration ● Closed cycle
the surface is mostly land Surface view: As per HR1, but bodies of standing water will be rare ● Temperature water systems
covered, with occasional small regulation ● Heat sinks (such
water bodies. Weather: As per HR1, but precipitation seldom reaches ground level, instead evaporating in the as ice blocks)
thickening atmosphere
Min mass/radius: As HR1
Life: Life would, mostly, remain dormant until rare episodes of water occurred. It would gather, and
Max mass/radius: As HR1 be more abundant, near the rare wet oasis - both surface and subsurface. However it would also
require a source of chemical or volcanic energy
Gravity: As HR1
Like? Exoplanet Kepler 138d

(unconfirmed)
3: Massive atmosphere over Orbit view (if illuminated): As per HR1. As per HR1, plus: As per HR1 plus:
ocean surface: As per 1, but the ● Finding stable land to ● Floating habitats.
surface is mostly water covered. Surface view: As per HR1 but with a far greater expanse of ocean. At the ocean bed the high build upon
pressure may cause the sea bed and water to blend, slowly moving from silty water to highly
Min mass/radius: As HR1 hydrated rock, without a clear boundary.
Max mass/radius: As HR1 Weather: As for HR1,plus: The density of the atmosphere and size of the ocean allows waves to
grow larger, and weather systems to grow without striking land and stalling.
Gravity: As HR1
Life: As for HR1.
Like? Exoplanet Kepler 138d
(unconfirmed)
27
Habitable rogue notes:
The largest and rarest solid-surfaced rogues, the technical term for them is gas dwarf: These almost
became the cores of gas giants, but ran out of gas to trap with their gravity. Even on the least massive
any solid surface will be hidden deep beneath a heat retaining hydrogen/helium atmosphere thousands
of km thick (compared to Earth's 100km deep atmosphere), trapping geothermal heat that builds up to
Earth-like temperatures. Habitability is not guaranteed: Their surfaces may be scorchingly hot if
geothermal heat and atmospheric insulation are too great, or frigid if they are too low. Even the most
hospitable will have surface pressures on par with Earth's deepest oceans, making human habitation
difficult without major physiological adaptation. Surface water would boil at 400 to 500°C.
28
Modifiers:
Hypervelocity rogues:
Sometimes a planet is kicked out of its solar system with extreme violence - for example; when a solar
system has a close encounter with a gigantic black hole, like the one in the centre of our galaxy. If the
central star falls into the hole a planet orbiting it can, if lucky, be thrown away from the hole at speeds of
over 2000 Km/sec (if unlucky it’s dessert for the hole). Such a planet would get a grand tour of its galaxy,
from core to edge, before vanishing into intergalactic space.
Double rogue planets:

About 5% of planets with large companion worlds (like Earth-Moon, or Pluto-Charon) should stay
attached to them if they get ejected into interstellar space, going rogue together. They'd exert tidal
forces (see ‘planets can heat their moons with gravity’ p53) on each other, which would generate
geothermal heat and increase the odds of liquid water, and possibly life.
Carbon world:
Carbon worlds aren’t a class of worlds so much as an entire ‘dark’ continuum of them: They're formed
with a higher ratio of carbon to silicon than Earth, with carbon taking silicon's chemical niche. The same
kinds of basic physical processes at work on a silicon world (like Earth) would be at work on a carbon
world, resulting in analogous classes (e.g. ocean or volcanic worlds) but with carbon rich materials
instead. Some key differences would be:
● Carbon worlds are dark red or brown in colour: Carbon compounds tend to be black, red, or brown,
so on the whole a carbon moon would have a dark red-brown surface colour.
● Rivers and seas of oil, tar, and other hydrocarbons, not water: Carbon worlds would have little water
as the oxygen in it would react with the carbon on the surface, and be taken up by it. However, if the
temperature is below 75 celsius, atmospheric gasses would break down under galactic radiation and
UV from the local star, re-forming into long chain hydrocarbons that form stable liquids. At lower
temperatures more simple carbon compounds, such as methane and ethane, will condense and rain
out. As a result temperate carbon worlds may have seas and rivers of oils, tars, and related
compounds and colder carbon-moons might have seas and lakes of liquid methane and ethane, as
Saturn’s moon Titan does.
● A mainly CO and CO2 atmosphere: On a temperate or cold carbon world the atmosphere is likely to
be made of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, with smogs and clouds of floating
carbon-compound particles, and hydrocarbon liquid droplets.
● Graphite, carbides, and diamonds for rock: Carbon worlds would have an iron or steel-rich core like
Earth, but surrounding that would be molten silicon carbide and titanium carbide. Above that would
be graphite instead of rock, possibly with a kilometers-thick layer of diamond at its base. A
carbon-world volcano would erupt silicon or titanium carbide from near its core, and might carry
large chunks of hot diamond in their lava. Erosion would work very slowly on such hard materials
once they cool.
● Carbon worlds occur in families: Carbon worlds are unlikely to co-exist with silicon worlds in a solar
29
system, as a protoplanetary disk is likely to have a single carbon content. A small carbon world could
be present in a silicon system, or visa-versa, if the odd-world-out formed as part of a different system
and was captured by the system that became its long term home.
● Life on a Carbon world: Earth life is carbon based, so the chemistry of life could exist on a carbon
world, but they lack free water - a big problem for our kind of life. However plenty of study has been
done into the theoretical life forms that drink liquid hydrocarbons, and it seems possible. This would
be a very alien type of life, but nothing we currently know about chemistry rules it out.
30
Rogue gas giant planets - and their moon systems:
31
Section contents:
Layout of a gas giant’s moon system: 33
Core system: 33
Main system: 34
Outer system: 34
Ocean moon tropes: 35
Ice moon tropes: 37
Volcanic moon tropes: 39
Habitable surfaced (gas dwarf) moon tropes: 41
Asteroid or comet-like, non spherical, moon tropes 43
Rogue gas giant planets and their moon families 45
A bit of explanation of radiation belts, and how they relate to rogue gas giant planets: 47
32
The moon system of a large gas giant can be incredibly varied: Gas giants can warm the subsurfaces of
moons via the tidal forces (and resulting friction between rocks) their huge gravity creates (see ‘Planets
can heat their moons with gravity p53), so a wide variety of environments, including life-friendly
conditions, can exist - even in the utter darkness of interstellar space. In general the closer to the giant,
and the more elliptical, a moon's orbit is the more tidal heating it feels. A rogue gas giant and it's
collection of moons are effectively a tiny solar system, with many worlds existing nearby (no further
apart than the Earth and Moon) in the darkness. The possible moon tropes will be similar in many ways
to the rogue planet tropes, but with some key differences - for example volcanism happens more easily
on a moon, due to the tidal heating mentioned before - so they need a separate classification system,
and procedure to generate.
How to use this section:
1. Turn to the section contents, and pick out a moon trope / type you’d like to use. Follow the page
number (or link if you’re viewing this electronically) to the relevant entry, which will include a table
of sub-tropes to choose from, and notes providing greater detail. The table will also tell you which
section(s) of a gas giant’s moon system the trope will likely orbit it (see ‘layout of a gas giant’s moon
system, starting on p 34).
2. Having picked a sub trope, head to the ‘Rogue gas giant planets and their moon systems’ section
(p45)’ to pick the central gas giant and corresponding moon system your selected trope will inhabit -
the details of each giant listed are based as closely as possible on the known physics of gas giant
systems in the cold outer reaches of our own solar system.
3. Following the basic tropes are a series of ‘modifiers (p 29)’, which can be added to any planet trope
or moon system to give it an unusual property - for example the ‘carbon world’ modifier makes a
world(s) a super-hard ball of diamond and carbides, with oceans of oils instead of water.
4. Once you've developed your moon system as far as you want, look to ‘types of interstellar space‘
(p7) to get the background views and radiation levels.
A few notes on using the section:
● The first column of the tables in the ‘Moon tropes’ section will give a minimum mass, radius and
gravity needed for the sub-trope. The ‘Gas giant planet and moon systems’ section will give a
maximum mass that any object in the moon system of that gas giant could have. This is because
the minimum mass is more connected to how the moon itself forms, but the maximum mass is
more connected to how the gas giant it orbits forms.
● The maximum total mass of the moon system = the mass of the largest possible moon... but you
can also divide it between many lighter moons - so the choice of giant can define how many big
sibling moons your world is likely to have.
● There are only three sub-tropes - the H1, H2 and H3 super-atmosphere habitable surface moons
- that have a minimum mass so large that not every gas giant moon system could have one.
Details are listed in that trope's notes.
33
Layout of a gas giant’s moon system:
For reference we divide gas giant moon systems into three zones here. Each moon trope is more likely to
be found in a particular one, however moons can, like planets, turn rogue and wander out of their usual
home:
Core system:
Inner radius range: N/A
Outer radius range: 60,000 km to 500,000 km - outer edge of the main ring system, or inner edge of the
main radiation belt.
Description: The immediate neighbourhood of the gas giant. It's devoid of big moons, as tidal forces
from the giant usually rip them apart. How close a moon can get to the giant is called its ‘Roche limit’,
and very small, or higher gravity, moons may have theirs within the core system - see the glossary,
general terms (p57) for more details. Generally though the core system is the domain of the rings (often
made from rubble from a bigger moon that wandered to close), 'shepherd moons' just a few km across
that orbiting within them, asteroid-like and comet-like moons up to 150 km wide, and the gas giant itself.
34
Main system:
Inner radius range: 60,000 km to 500,000 km - edge of main ring system
Outer radius range: 500,000 km to 5,000,000 km - outer edge of main group of major moons.
Description: Contains most of the moons large enough to pull themselves into a sphere by gravity, and
some may be bigger than Mars. These orbit close enough for tidal forces (see 'planets can heat their
moons with just their gravity (p53) to heat a moon's core, causing volcanism (see general notes for more
detail p57) - more if the moon orbits closer, less if it orbits further away. Levels of volcanism also depend
on the mass of the gas giant: A heavier giant will heat its moons harder for a given orbital distance, so
those which are Jupiter-sized or bigger can turn their nearer large moons into lava worlds. The more
gentle warming felt by moons further away creates a variety of environments: Outer large moons could
be ocean worlds covered by kilometers of ice, solid ice balls, cryogenic worlds where it rains liquid
methane or snows nitrogen, or gas dwarfs with atmospheres deeper than their solid cores are wide.
Travel times between main system moons will be similar to that between the Earth and the Moon (a few
days by chemical rocket driven craft), but will be more hazardous due to orbits occupied by secondary
ring systems.
35
Outer system:
Inner radius range: 500,000 km to 5,000,000 km - outer edge of main group of major moons
Outer radius range: Edge of giant’s gravitational influence - depends on competing gravity fields.
Description: The engines of gravity are weakest here and the moon forming material will have been
thinner in the giant's early years, so moons are generally tiny, icy, objects. That said, moons can go on all
kinds of walkabouts if something tugs them hard at the right time, so bigger moons do wind up out
there. It ends far, far out at the edge of the giant’s gravitational influence (known technically as it's Hill
Sphere) - many millions of km - where the giant will be an invisible black speck.
36
Water (W) moon tropes:
W1: Ice locked seas or oasis. Orbit view (if illuminated): Cratered white/grey ice, with Ice surface: Ice surface:
Ice surface. Subsurface seas or patches of uncratered ice sporting ridges, cracks, jumbled ● Tectonic activity. ● Site bases over deep, stable, ice
lakes of water or mud warmed blocks. ● Radiation exposure ● Build habitats under meters of
by volcanism, or impacts. Less ● Impacts from ring surface ice
elliptical orbit. Surface view: Ice sheet in all directions. Other moons show debris ● Whipple shields, or other
discs, the gas giant fills the sky. Ridges, cracks, deformed ● O2 low or absent protection, for surface structures
Min mass / radius: 0.00001 ME craters and jumbled ice blocks mark the seas. Water may ● Temps -200 celsius or ● Appropriate life support, and
/ 250km erupt from vents. lower. space suits for surface
excursions.
Minimum gravity: 0.01g. Weather: Atmospheres could range from zero to denser Sub-surface seas:
than Earth’s - with no sunlight a primordial H2 atmosphere ● Volcanic vents Sub-surface seas:
Like? Ceres, Mars 3 billion could linger for billions of years. Very predictable weather, ● Extreme cold and ● Map the seafloor with
years ago. winds slow, driven by internal heat only. pressure disposable robots.
● Advanced materials for crewed
Orbits in? Main system Life? Microbes in fissures and brine lenses, complex ocean vehicles
organisms in the seas around volcanic vents.
W2: Ice covered world-ocean: Orbit view (if illuminated): A ball of white ice, lined with Ice surface: As for (W1), Ice surface: As for (W1), plus..
Global ocean 100 + km deep, ridges and cracks. Few craters. plus.. ● Site bases over deep, stable, ice
beneath a 1 km+ thick ice ● Geysering ● Map ice shell extensively with
sheet. Brine lakes nearer the Surface view: Similar to (W1), but the whole ice sheet ● Unstable ice radar and infrasound before
surface. More elliptical orbit. shows ridges, spreading, cracks, and jumbled ice blocks.. arrival.
Subsurface ocean:
Min mass / radius: 0.00001 Weather: Atmospheres could range from practically zero to As for (W1), plus.. Subsurface seas: As for (W1), plus..
ME / 250 km denser than Earth’s - with no sunlight a primordial ● Higher organisms with ● Explore the ocean and any life
atmosphere could linger. Very predictable weather, driven predatory or defence forms extensively with
Minimum gravity: 0.01g by geothermal heat, winds slow. mechanisms. disposable robots.
Like? Europa, Enceladus, Titan Life? As (W1). Ocean life. Cryo-liquid (e.g.liquid methane)
based surface life possible.
Orbits in? Main system
37
Water moon trope notes:
These range from worlds covered by endless water, topped with ice sheets kilometers deep, to ice balls
where concentrated antifreeze compounds or volcanism keep a few isolated, deep buried, lakes liquid .
There are several examples in our own solar system - Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus. Most will have a
core that is warm to molten, a rocky mantle, an immensely deep ocean or lake-bearing layer, and a
kilometers deep shell of protective ice. The most extreme oceans, thousands of km deep, may have
layers of high pressure ice, and an ocean floor that fades seamlessly from super-hydrated rock into
muddy water. Water worlds will usually be found on the mid or outer orbits of the gas giant’s
main-system (see ‘Layout of a gas giant moon system’ (p 34), although they can wander into the outer
system. If they wander into the core system tidal forces are likely to make them massively volcanic (see
‘planets can heat their moons with gravity’ p53) which may evaporate their oceans, or outright tear the
moon apart. The time it would take for a moon in that situation to dry entirely would depend on the
relative masses and densities of the moon and giant, and may run to hundreds of thousands or millions
of years. A very large moon, coming close to a smaller gas giant, may have enough self-gravity to keep an
atmosphere, which fills with water vapour. This in turn will trigger a runaway greenhouse effect,
eventually turning the moon Venus-like.
Although the space around a gas giant is often filled with high-speed ring particles and radiation belts,
ice-covered water moons provide natural protection for both native life and visitors, as surface ice over 2
meters thick makes effective shielding against radiation and small ring particles.
Water moons, like many large moons of a gas giant, are likely to be tidally locked (see glossary p57) to
their giant and rotate only one per orbit - so the giant will always occupy the same spot in the sky from
any given location on the moon, although other moons will move ceaselessly. The giant, unless it is very
large or very young, will only be visible in the eternally dark sky by the background stars it blots out, and
the flicker of lightning in its clouds.
38
Ice moon (I) tropes:
I1: Atmosphere free ice ball Orbit view (if illuminated): A huge ball of cratered ice, perhaps ● Space-like conditions: ● Habitats built similarly
Just a gigantic ball of ice and rock, with a few chasms or rilles from ancient volcanism. Unlikely to be Hard vacuum, radiation to space vessels, but
floating in space. Less elliptical orbit. pure white - stained with grey meteor dust or brown/pink and low gravity. adapted for some
organics. ● Impacts from gravity.
Min mass / radius: 0.00001 ME / 250 micrometeorites, ring ● Bury habitats beneath
km Surface view: An endless expanse of broken and pulverised ice, particles, and other surface ice, both for
frozen hard as rock - much like Earth's Moon but a much lighter debris. insulation, radiation
Minimum gravity: 0.01g grey. ● Cryogenic temperatures and meteorite
protection.
Like? Miranda, Callisto, Mimas Weather: None
Orbits in? Main system Life: Frozen single cell life, preserved in ice from an ancient epoch
I2: Ice ball with atmosphere Orbit view (if illuminated): Ranges from a grey-white ice ball with If atmosphere is very thin: ● If atmosphere is very
As per 1, but with an atmosphere. May barely visible atmospheric haze, to covered in primordial As per 1. thin:
have a subsurface water ocean (see hydrogen. ● As per 1.
Water moon p37). More elliptical If atmosphere is denser:
orbit. Surface view: A fairly uncratered surface, covered in deposits of ● Drifts of ices and/or If atmosphere is denser:
various ices and/or yellow to brown organic matter. Rivers and organics ● Weather satellites and
Min mass/radius: 0.002 ME / 2000 km even seas of cryogenic liquids (e.g. methane) may be present. ● Lakes or seas of cryo- surface stations
liquids, with lower ● Adaptation of suits and
Like? Triton, Titan Weather: Atmosphere may be denser than Earth’s, but with no buoyancy than water vehicles for ultra-cold:
solar heating is stagnant - winds and precipitation minimal. ● Glaciers of low ● Move in groups, mark
Orbits in? Main system Raindrops are large, move slowly temperature ices (e.g routes.
nitrogen ice), exhibiting ● Stay in during bad
Minimum gravity: 0.07g Life: Life may exist in any subsurface water present. Cryo-liquid life chasms, unstable ice, weather.
may exist on the surface, but is limited by paucity of energy shifting landscapes. ● Buoyancy aids.
sources. ● Cryogenic temperatures ● Flares and radio beacons
I3: Ice ball with atmosphere and/or Orbit view: As in I2, but will also feature conical volcanic ice As per 2, plus: As per 2 plus:
cryovolcanism mountains, and other volcanic features. Karst landscapes, silt flats, ● Cryovolcanic eruptions of ● Map cryo-volcanic
As per 2, but subsurface liquid deserts, mountain ranges, glaciers and seas may also be visible water-ammonia slurry, regions.
water/ammonia may erupt and freezing as it moves and ● Build structures to
freezes. (see Water moon p37). More Surface view: As in 2, but extended to volcanically influenced entombing objects. appropriate quake
elliptical orbit. landscapes such as volcanic plains. Potentially as wide a variety of ● Explosive eruptions of proofing levels
landscapes as a world like Earth or Mars. nitrogen gas. ● Buoyancy aids for
Min mass/radius: 0.002ME / 2000km ● Quakes and other tectonic cryolava (it won’t cook
Weather: As in I2 activity you but it can entomb
Minimum gravity: 0.07g you)
Life? As in I2, but any ocean life may exist near surface water ● Emergency beacons
Like? Titan, Pluto, pockets
39
Ice moon trope notes:
There’s considerable crossover between ice moons and ice-covered water moons: Moons mainly of solid
ice may have some subsurface seas or lakes, (in which case see 'Water Moon' type W1 p37) which can
erupt onto the surface as ‘cryo-volcanism’. These small oases can sometimes happen even if the moon’s
core is fairly cool, or entirely dead - for example If the water is mixed with antifreeze compounds, or if an
impact has created a hotspot. As the water freezes any antifreeze compounds become more
concentrated, amplifying their effect until the last remnant has a freezing point many tens of degrees
below 0℃, is more stable against vacuum, and so toxic only the hardiest microorganisms could drink it.
Called a ‘eutectic’ this mix would, if it reached the surface, flow as a solidifying slurry, building new
landscapes as regular volcanism does.
As well as an analogue of volcanism, the surface of any ice moon big enough to hold an atmosphere
could have lakes and rivers of methane, ethane or nitrogen, with ‘rock’ of water-ice. The cryogenic
liquids would fall as rainstorms, causing rivers, floods and flash floods of cryo-liquids. Cryo-liquids tend to
be less buoyant than water so any boats built for those rivers would need deeper hulls to float than if
they were in water - and a human would sink like a rock. On the other hand the low gravity would mean
that, if the atmosphere was Earth-like in density, a human wearing wings on their arms could fly by
flapping them.
Ice moons with dense atmospheres may also have:
● Cryo-liquid soaked marshes and beaches.
● Penitentes: Blades of ice made by sublimation of the surface, hundreds of meters tall, forming
vast mazes.
● Glacier seas: Where glaciers of frozen nitrogen (or other abundant low temperature material)
congregate in ‘seas’ These may be broken into convection cells formed by creepingly slow
convective flow, and aligned elliptical pits from sublimation of the glacier. Cryo liquid lakes may
form beneath the glaciers’ protective surface.
● Hydrocarbon deserts: Frozen hydrocarbon grains form endless black deserts, with dunes over
100 meters high.
● Cryogenic life: Where a surface has both cryo-liquids and complex organics, low-temperature life
may evolve. Such life would use cryogenic liquids in the role of water (as a solvent enabling
complex chemical reactions), use microscopic acetonitrile based spheres called azotosomes as
basic cells, and might breathe hydrogen.
40
Volcanic moon (V) tropes:
V1: Global magma ocean Orbit view (if illuminated): A smooth expanse of lava, broken by short lived rafts of crystallising ● Intense, moon ● Heat proofed,
Recently (in geological terms) suffered a material. Palpable heat even from a 1000km + orbit wide, heat heat reflecting
colossal impact.. Molten to the core. ● Little or no solid and well
Surface view: A smooth surface of magma, with occasional bergs or rafts of crystallising high surface. insulated, hull
Min mass / radius: 0.00002ME / 250 km temperature materials (e.g. anorthosite). ● Explosive gas for space
eruptions vehicles
Minimum gravity: 1/40 g Weather: Atmosphere composed of vaporised rock and released volatiles. Molten material may ● Human
condense and rain out onto magma ocean, or fall as crystals. presence all but
Like? Vesta 4 billion years ago. impossible
Life? Conventional life unlikely
V2: Magma lakes or seas Orbit view (if illuminated):. Surface emits heat, even from orbit, glowing dully at night in places. ● Moon wide heat ● Heat proofed,
Magma pours from chasms, pooling to Magma seas have solid skin, which breaks during eruptions. Large eruptions may send debris onto ● Quakes hull for space
create a network of magma rivers, lakes , sub-orbital paths. Magma channels across the landscape. Few impact craters. ● Volcanic vehicles
and seas. More elliptical orbit. May be a V3 eruptions, ● Whipple
in low activity periods, when orbit is less Surface view: Plains of dark basalt, oven hot, broken by lighter uplands. Parts of the plains glow ● Pyroclastic flows shielding or
elliptical. dimly. Haze, and plumes of material, from vents. Beads of volcanic glass may be found, deposited ● Lava flows and armour
by pyroclastic flows. Gas giant may raise 100m tides in the large magma seas. Powerful quakes, floods ● Surface
Min mass / radius: 0.00004ME / 350 km non-stop. ● Lava bombs, on exploration by
sub-orbital paths. robots. Humans
Minimum gravity: 1/40 g Weather: Atmosphere toxic, composition variable, may be thicker than Earth’s. Clouds at high ● Geologically face extremely
altitude, precipitation may form, evaporating before the surface. ‘Frost’ of volcanic gasses stable areas are high risk.
Like? Luna 3.5 billion yrs ago (e.g.SO2) may occur. unlikely.
Orbits in? Main system Life? Conventional life unlikely

V3: Moon wide volcanism, solid surface Orbit view (if illuminated):. Similar to V2, but with a much less extensive network of magma lakes Similar to V2 but Similar to V1
Surface covered in volcanic features. May and seas. generally less ● Limited human
become a V2 during intense activity. Less severe presence in
elliptical orbit. Surface view: Similar to 1 more stable
areas, using
Min mass/radius: 0.00004ME / 350 km Weather: Atmosphere similar to 1, but likely to be thinner - comparable to Mars or high altitude well insulated
Earth in pressure. High altitude clouds may form. Occasional precipitation in cooler areas. protective suits,
Minimum gravity: 1/40 g may be possible,
Life? If volcanic activity is ebbing, water may condense on cooler ground and provide microbial
Like? Io habitats - these could be colonised via local panspermia from nearby, life bearing, moons.

4: Mostly extinct: Orbit view (if illuminated):. An expanse of rock, pocked with craters on every scale. Lava plains ● Ring particle ● 4 meters of
Regolith, mountains, craters. Some polar and volcanic cones may be present in places, and other tectonic features. hits.. regolith to resist
ice. Volcanism is fading, with rare eruptions ● Hard vacuum impacts and
and occasional quakes. Less elliptical orbit. Surface view: A landscape of different toned grey rock. Coloured surface patches - orange, green, ● Radiation radiation.
black - due to beads of volcanic glass mixed in. The sky is black. ● Minor volcanism ● Mapping
Min mass/radius: 0.00004ME / 250 km including volcanic regions.
Weather: Little atmosphere. Thin storms of electrostatically levitated dust may occur at dawn and explosive gas ● Quake resistant
Minimum gravity: 0.02g dusk eruptions, and buildings.
pyroclastic ● Dust removal,
Like? Luna. Mercury Life? A very limited deep subsurface biosphere is possible. Organics frozen into ices at the poles. flows. air filtration,
● Razor-edged monitoring.
Orbits in? Main system (outer if small) dust, harmful if
inhaled
*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)*
41
Volcanic moon trope notes:
Volcanism on a rogue planet’s moon may be driven by residual formation heat, concentrations of
radioactive materials, residual heat from a major impact, or tidal heating from the gas giant. The first
two dwindle as the moon ages (radioactivity more slowly). A giant impact can occur at any point, but is
also much more probable when a system is younger and still close to (or part of) solar systems. Tidal
heating from the gas giant will also slow with time in the case of a solitary moon, as the tidal forces
circularise its orbit (see ‘planets can heat their moons with just gravity’ on p53 and 'tidal forces' in
glossary, p57) - but if a moon is part of a family of moons then gravitational tugs between them may
keep its orbit elliptical for billions of years, continuing the heating. A few points to bear in mind are:
● Radioactive element driven heating will be determined by the quantity, concentration and half
lives of various radionuclides incorporated into the moon as it forms.
● Low mass volcanic moons (near the 500 km diameter lower limit for a moon to pull itself into a
spherical shape) will usually run out of radioactivity and be dependent on tidal forces for heat after
about 100 million years.
● Small moons need closer, more elliptical, orbits for tidal heating.
● Volcanic moons’ atmospheres don't need to be stable against loss to space, as eruptions
replenish them.
● Low gravity volcanic moons will quickly lose the lighter gasses, such as hydrogen (the 'H' in H2O),
leaving heavier gasses such as CO2. Lighter gasses may be returned by comet or asteroid impacts, but
only in relatively small amounts.
42
Habitable surfaced (H) moon tropes:
1: Surface with both seas and Orbit view: (if illuminated): Appears from as wide as Earth would do up to several times as ● The bends, on rapid ● Habitats similar to deep
continents wide. The basic colour will probably be blue, but may be overlain with clouds or coloured ascent from the sea submersibles.
Solid surfaced, but surrounded hazes. The surface is entirely hidden - but would appear significantly less wide if visible. surface. ● Staged return to
by a hydrogen atmosphere Occasional light or dark storm clouds are visible. ● Unbreathable Earth-normal pressure.
thousands of km deep. atmosphere No faster than 1
Trapped volcanic heat warms Surface view:Pitch dark, except for volcanic eruptions or lightening.Land surface is plain ● O2 highly flammable bar/minute
the surface, allowing liquid rock, dust, grit, and sand. Pressure is in the region of 500 to 1000 bar (similar to pressures 5 on contact with ● Geothermal power,
water. to 10km beneath Earth’s ocean). Waves may reach twice the height of terrestrial waves. atmosphere nuclear batteries, or
Surface temperature is uniform, aside from volcanic hotspots ● Darkness. high density imported
Minimum mass / radius: 0.55 ● Hydrogen sulfide: energy sources.
ME / 7500 km (atmosphere) or Weather: The atmosphere may have multiple layers of chemically different clouds, similar to Corrosive, flammable, ● Decontamination and
5000 km (surface) Neptune or Uranus - for example: Upper: White, misty methane clouds. Brown organic paralyzes respiration. fire safety measures at
hazes. -175 °C, 1 bar. 900 km/h winds. Middle: White ammonia (pungent caustic, odour) and ● Ammonia, which is entrance.
Minimum gravity: 0.6g hydrogen sulfide clouds (smells of rotten eggs at low levels, but fades). -135°C, 10 bar. Low lethal above 500 ppm. ● Avoid poisonous cloud
light. Lower: Clouds of ammonium hydroxide crystals, water ice, then water-ammonia drops. ● Tides are tens to decks.
Like? No confirmed examples Up to 50°C, 300 bar. Dark, aside from lightning. hundreds of meters ● Weather monitoring and
mapping
Orbits in? Main system Life? Generally slow metabolisms due to minimal energy. Complex life around volcanoes
H2: Ocean covered surface Orbit view (if illuminated): As in H1 As in H1 As in H1
As in H1, but with more H2O,
resulting in a global ocean. Surface view: As in H1, but landmasses are limited to infrequent islands.
Min mass / radius: As H1 Weather: As in H1
Minimum gravity: As H1 Life: As in H1
Like? No confirmed examples

H3: Desert covered surface Orbit view (if illuminated) As in H1 As in H1 As in H1
As in H1, but with little H2O,
resulting in a global desert. Surface view: As in H1, but water bodies are limited to infrequent oases.
Min mass / radius: As H1 Weather: As in H1
Minimum gravity: As H1 Life: As in H1
Like? No known examples

H4: CO2 atmosphere, desert Orbit view: (if illuminated): An unending expanse of desert plains rolling beneath. ● Quakes ● Mapping volcanic regions.
A CO2 atmosphere,(1 - 10 bar), Occasional small oaseas are visible, none more than lake-sized. The total liquid water is 100 ● Explosive gas ● Quake resistant buildings.
major volcanism. Atmospheric times less than Earth’s. Widespread volcanoes, and away from them may be evidence of eruptions ● Dust removal, air
chemistry limits H2O. frost, snow or ground ice. The atmosphere is mainly clear to the eye, with thin,wispy clouds. ● Lava flows filtration, monitoring
In the infrared it is smoggy, and almost impossible to see through. Very few impact craters. ● Pyroclastic flows ● Staged return to
Min mass / radius: 0.1 ME / ● The bends, on rapid Earth-normal pressure.
3000Km Surface view: A landscape of sand, dust, and rock under eternal night. Some illumination ascent from the No faster than 1
provided by volcanic eruptions,when nearby. The stars are visible. surface. bar/minute
Minimum gravity: 0.3g ● Unbreathable ● Geothermal power,
Weather: Predictable. Precipitation mainly in belts around volcanic regions, winds sluggish. atmosphere nuclear batteries, or other
Like? No known examples high density imported
Life: Microbial life, with slow metabolisms - possibly more complex around volcanic regions. energy sources..
43
Habitable surfaced moon notes:
The strangest habitable tropes - hydrogen super atmosphere tropes - are the only moon types too big to
be found orbiting some gas giants: Only giants over 12 times Jupiter's mass are likely to form and host
them. They occur because of the cold and dark: If a world is rogue it’s also far from the heat and light
that drives light gases (like hydrogen) into space. Such cold, dark, worlds can gather an immensely deep
atmosphere, potentially deeper than the planet's radius. This process can turn the planet into a gas
giant, but sometimes the region it forms in doesn’t have enough gas for that, leaving it with an immense
atmosphere but a solid surface beneath. Such a huge atmosphere makes an incredible insulator - so
good that internal heat alone can build up, in the lowest layers, until the surface is warm enough for
liquid water. Down there, in an environment as dark and high pressure as Earth’s deepest oceans, rivers
can flow, seas form, and rain can fall - and it will boil at over 400 degrees celsius. The planet's volcanoes
will be almost the sole source of such a surface’s energy and nutrients. Such moons would be closely
related to habitable, rogue, interstellar planets (see Habitable Rogues p27) but may not require as much
thickness of atmosphere to stay habitable: Gravitational tidal heating from the giant can power higher
levels of heating and volcanic activity.
The atmosphere itself may resemble that of a Neptune-lIke planet, with a similar multilayer cloud
structure of compounds that become lower temperature with increasing height. The cloud bands might,
from space, resemble the banded patterns visible on Venus in UV light.
A super-deep hydrogen atmosphere isn’t the only way to keep a moon habitable: CO2, also a common
atmospheric gas, is a much better insulator than hydrogen. Combined with a high level of geothermal
warmth from tidal heating (see ‘planets can heat their moons with just gravity’ on p53 and 'tidal forces'
in glossary, p57) a moon would only need a CO2 atmosphere between 1 and 10 times that of Earth to
maintain water-supporting temperatures. The downside is that the chemistry that controls the
atmosphere’s evolution would limit the water content to 0.01% of Earth’s - enough for rare oaseas and
simple life, but rendering most of the moon a desert.
Any life that arose on any of these moon types would exist in almost total, perpetual, darkness - only
lightning, volcanic glows and bioluminescence might break the blackness. As energy is a basic
requirement of all life any that was present would gather around the heat and chemical energy of
volcanic areas, and be sparse elsewhere.
44
Asteroid or comet-like, non spherical (NS), moon tropes
NS1: Stony, possibly metal rich: Orbit view: A wall of light grey rock, possibly with a slight reflective ● Space-like ● Build for,
A chunk of rock and metal ores, sheen or areas. Uneven horizon. environment: essentially, a deep
tens of meters to hundreds of km ● Hard vacuum, space environment.
across. A captured piece of a Surface view: A landscape of light toned rock, with occasional reflective radiation, very low ● Bury habitats
destroyed protoplanet. patches of ore showing triangular crystal patterns. Black sky. Dropped gravity, beneath surface for
objects take seconds to visibly move. Heavily cratered on all scales, may micrometeorite radiation and
Minimum mass: 8,000,000 tons be solid or a vast pile of rubble. Uneven horizon. impacts impact protection
Minimum gravity: Less than 0.001g Weather: Occasional, sparse, electrostatically levitated dust around
dawn and dusk.
Like? Asteroid Psyche
Life? No conventional life
Orbits in? Any
NS2: Dormant comet nucleus: Orbit view:. A wall of dark grey or black from close orbit, a dark irregular As in NS1, plus: ● Deep level geologic
A chunk of carbon and water ices mass from further out. Vent-like surface features, cliffs, and preserved ● Mechanically weak, survey to identify
from the system’s formation. Tens dunes of carbon dust may be present . unstable, surface stable regions, via
of meters to hundreds of km wide. ● Pockets of volatiles robotic explorers
Surface view: may erupt if warmed ● Gently pre-heat
Minimum mass: 40,000 tons A black or dark grey surface with a taffy like structure. Uneven horizon. surface prior to any
Dropped objects take seconds to visibly move. Relatively few craters. use, driving off
Minimum gravity: Less than 0.001g volatile pockets
Weather: None
Like? Asteroid Pallas
Life? No conventional life, but may well host pre-life chemistry (amino
Orbits in? Any acids, sugars, lipids, nucleobases)
NS3: Shepherd moon Orbit view:. A wall of dark grey or black rock in close orbit, a dark As in NS1, plus: As in NS1, plus:
Tens of meters to km across, which irregular mass from further out. Is likely to have a ridge, in line with the ● Mechanically weak ● Whipple shield or
orbits in or near a ring system, and plane of the ring, which may extend far enough to give it a ‘flying saucer’ surface other anti-impact
confines it with its gravity. appearance. ● Pockets of volatiles shielding.
may erupt if warmed ● Burial of habitats
Minimum mass: 125,000,000 tons Surface view: A black / grey surface composed of ultra fine, loosely ● Continuous impacts will need to be
bonded, dust with some larger particles. from ring particles, deep, as surface
Minimum gravity: Less than 0.001g some of which may material is very soft.
Weather: A constant rain of minute ring particles be large enough to be
Like? The moons Prometheus, hazardous
Orphelia Life? No conventional life, but may well host pre-life chemistry (Amino
acids, sugars, lipids, nucleobases).
Orbits in? Core system
45
Asteroid or comet like moon notes:
There’s a surprising amount of variety among these tiny moons, from chunks of ice and prebiotic
organics (that might kick-start life if they landed on the right world), to blocks of metal ore. The variety of
asteroid-like and comet-like moons reflects the varied ways that asteroid-sized objects form. The most
common of these are:
● Chunks of destroyed protoplanets, representing different parts of a protoplanets structure:

○ Metallic asteroids are typically from the core of such a protoplanet, and may be almost pure
metal.
○ Stony asteroids are from the mantle or crust.
○ Objects from the near surface may have traces of liquid water, volcanism, or traces of primordial
atmospheres.
● Chunks of material preserved from a solar system's protoplanetary disk - a homogenous mix of dust
and ices, and primitive organic matter. When heated these become comets.
● Shepherd moons, which orbit within or near to a ring system and shape the ring by tugging on it with
gravity.
The low gravity of these moons makes them useful for mining: Metal ores such, rare earth metals, fuels
(from more primitive, less heated objects) and oxygen, water, and even fertiliser (plants will grow on
material from carbon rich asteroids).
46
Gas giants tropes and their moon families:
Gas giant Moon family
Gas giant mass Gravity Description Notes Main radiation belt dose for Likely Likely
(Jupiter at cloud an average human… maximum mass maximum
masses Mj) tops (g) ...with an outgassing moon** (Earth masses, gravity for
…no active moons, in the
ME) and radius largest
galactic core or a cluster
...elsewhere.
(km) for largest moon (g)*
See page 49 for effects moon
Bantamweight: 0.75 to 1 Similar in radius and (if illuminated) Suitable for aero-mining deuterium 10 - 500 rad /hour Up to 0.01 ME 0.1g
0.05 - 0.29 Mj appearance to Neptune or Uranus: A fusion fuel (think Bespin). Lower gravity
nearly featureless blue orb (although ranges needed for physical exporting, 0.1 to 5 rad /hour Up to 2000 km
coloured clouds can alter this) but energy may be beamed to space
punctuated by occasional light or dark from floating reactors as microwaves or Up to 10x background
storm clouds, with a radius between 1/5 laser light instead. Rings and upper
and 2/3 of Jupiter's. Visible lightning on atmosphere may hold useful amounts
night side. May be as large as Saturn of antimatter, generated by cosmic ray
strikes this is true for all gas giants
Middleweight: 1 to 8 Similar in radius and illuminated Suitable for aero-mining deuterium 500 - 500,000 rad /hour 0.1 ME 0.2g
0.30 – 2.99 Mj appearance to Jupiter or Saturn - fusion fuel (think Bespin city from Star
without clouds it will appear blue, but Wars). Physical export of this fuel 5 to 500 rad/hour 4500 km
likely to sport white ammonia or water would be energy intensive, though not
ice cloud cover, possibly colored by impossible, but energy may be beamed Up to 10x background
organic compounds and punctuated by to space from floating reactors as
storms. Clouds banded in the direction microwaves or laser light.
of spin. Visible lightning on the night
side.
Heavyweight: 8 to 25 As for middleweights Suitable for aero-mining 500,000 to 2,500,000 rad 0.3 ME 0.3g
3 – 9.99 Mj deuterium,high gravity makes /hour
off-planet export hard. Reactors 6500 km
floating in the atmosphere could beam 500 to 2000 rad/hour
microwave or laser energy off-world.
Up to 10x background
Super 25 to 50 If very young (a few million years old) it A giant over 11 Mj may have shone as a 250,000 to 2,000,000 + rad 0.6 ME 0.4g
Heavyweight: may shine magenta, but otherwise it will brown dwarf in its early history. A giant /hour
11 - 20 Mj appear as for middleweights bigger than 16Mj is likely to have done 6500 to 8000 km
so. If a giant was a brown dwarf it will 2000 - 10,000 rad /hour
be deuterium poor.
Up to 10x background
Massive enough for habitable surfaced
moons (see p43)
*Radius and gravity calculated assuming density of an ice-rock mix (1600 kg / m3), on par with the composition of many icy moons, dwarf
planets, and other objects in the outer regions of our solar system.
** Estimated using data from: Radiation Analysis for Moon and Mars Missions, Andreas Märki Märki. Analytics for Space, ESA Space
Environment Information SYstem (SPENVIS), NASA SpaceMath: The deadly Van Allen belts?
https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/Algebra1/3Page7.pdf, Astronomy magazine FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE
What is the source of Jupiter’s radiation? PIONEER 10 AND 11 JOVIAN ENCOUNTERS: RADIATION DOSE AND BIOLOGICAL LETHALITY M. W. Miller
G. E. Kaufman H. D. Maillie Dept, Radiation Biology § Biophy https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/06/213/6213376.pdf
47
Gas giants and moon system notes:
Gas giant’s moon systems are strongly influenced by where they form - those further from a star will
have much higher amounts of water ice, resulting in lower surface gravity than worlds of similar mass
but made of denser, higher melting point materials. In interstellar space, far from any light or other
radiation, the cold makes moons more likely to hold onto atmospheres of light gases, such as hydrogen
and helium.
Due to their huge size the gas giants themselves retain formation heat far better than terrestrial worlds,
and have more in the way of other internal heat sources. For example: Being a huge ball of gas Jupiter is
slowly compressing down under its own gravity, which heats up its core. As a result Jupiter emits 3 times
as much heat as it gets from the Sun, and most of its storms are driven by that internal heat. Super
Heavyweight giants may even have had a small amount of deuterium-based nuclear fusion happening in
their cores when first formed, making them brown-dwarf ‘sub-stars’ (see ‘gas giants vs brown dwarfs’
p53). This, combined with their intense gravity, makes gas giants and their moons a bit less affected by
being ejected into the freezing depths of interstellar space - some may even form independently, far
away from any star. As a result a rogue gas giant, and the basics of its moon system, will be similar to if
that giant orbited a star. The chief difference to the giants themselves will be that, without the UV light
of a star driving chemical reactions in its upper clouds, it will lack the vivid colours of Jupiter. The main
difference to the moon system will be that their surfaces will be too cold for widespread liquid water
without both substantial volcanism and a thick, insulating, atmosphere.
Because of their internal heat gas giants have another trick up their sleeves: A giant with enough H2O to
form a layer of water clouds might provide habitat for life similar to the microbes that live in terrestrial
clouds. That habitat would be relatively unaffected by the gas giant’s ejection into interstellar space,
warmed by the giant's internal heat, and already beneath the shadows of hundreds of km of ammonia
clouds. Where a gas giant has formed independently from any star this habitable layer would make it a
'green dwarf' - a life supporting environment as big as a small star.
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A bit of explanation of radiation belts, and how they relate to rogue gas giant planets:
Radiation belts are clouds of incredibly fast, ionised (electrically charged), subatomic particles - usually held
together by a world’s magnetic field. As you fly through one you’re hit by trillions of these particles, which smash
microscopic tunnels through DNA and microelectronics, crippling them.
In a solar system the intensity of a planet's radiation belts highly depend on the strength and extent of that world's
magnetic field, and its proximity to the local star: The main source of the ionised particles is solar wind, the very
thin, super-hot, gas a star throws off. For a rogue planet there isn’t a local star, but other sources can stand in - for
example cosmic rays, a volcanic moon losing atmosphere, or water moon with geysers that emit gas into space: The
escaping gas atoms get electrically charged by cosmic rays, or radiation already in the area, swept up by the giant’s
magnetic field into belts, and accelerated up to nearly light speed. Jupiter and Saturn’s radiation belts are partial
examples of this: Jupiter’s are added to by the volcanic moon Io just beyond it’s main radiation belt, and Saturn’s
are intensified by the water vapour from the geysers of the water moon Enceladus spraying into space.
The gas giant’s radiation field ends at the edge of its magnetic field and will be divided into a main belt and
secondary belts by the radiation absorbing effects of any rings, and by dust particles thrown off by moons and
drifting along their orbits. For specifics of the damage radiation can do…
Equivalent to? Dose* per Effects on average Effects on unshielded Countermeasures, listed at maximum useful dose, may also be used at
average human: human electronics lower doses:
rads/hour
Chest x-ray 0.01 No negative long term None Positioning: Remain within safe zones of planetary magnetic field
effects. Barriers: High density, high atomic number material (e.g. lead) 30 cm +
thick.
Multiple CT scans of the head. 10 Radiation sickness, Noise and infrequent glitching Barrier of hydrogen rich material (E.G. polyethylene or water), 50 cm +
nausea, eventual in sensitive devices (such as Diet: Antioxidants, pectin fiber, omega-3, strawberries, blueberries, kale
recovery likely. sensors) and spinach
Drugs: Radiogardase,PLX5622, etc
Dose on the surface of Jupiter’s 25 Lowest dose to cause Noise and infrequent glitching Barriers: High density, high atomic weight material (e.g. lead) over 1 meter
moonEuropa clinically observable in sensitive devices (such as thick.
blood changes. sensors). Loss of sensitivity Graded layers of material, from high to low atomic number, over 60 cm
thick
Dose on innermost major moon 200 Local dose for onset of As above. Hydrogenated boron nitride nanotube barrier over 130 cm .
of Jupiter, Io. erythema (reddened Deflectors: Electrostatic, magnetic deflectors
skin) in humans. Electronics: Radiation hardened microchips.
Radiation belt of low-mass 400 Acute radiation Function with frequent errors Fault tolerant microchips.
‘middleweight’ gas giant, with an syndrome, 50% of and glitches - high latency
active moon (e.g Saturn’s) untreated sufferers die needed for reliability
in 1 month.
Radiation belt of low-mass 1000 Organ failure, death Typical radiation tolerance of Barriers: Meters thick barrier of dense, high atomic number ( ‘Z’ number),
‘heavyweight’ gas giant with no within hours. ordinary microchips. Failure material.
active moons, in a solar system within minutes Massive cryogenic hydrogen barrier, if used with others
Electronics: Radiation hardened microchips.
Radiation belt of mid-mass 6000 Rapid cellular necrosis. Failure within seconds
Fault tolerant microchips
‘superheavyweight’ gas giant,
with no active moons, in a solar
system
Radiation belt of high-mass ‘super 10,000 Rapid fatal whole-body Failure within seconds
heavyweight’ gas giant, with no dose, death within an
active moons, in a solar system hour.
Radiation belt of ‘middleweight’ 400,000 Rapid organ failure, Failure within seconds Human presence not recommended
gas giant with an active moon death within minutes. Barriers: Meters thick barrier of dense, high atomic number, material.
Massive cryogenic hydrogen barrier, if used with others
Radiation belts of super 1,000,000 Massive organ failure, Typical tolerance of Deflectors: Superconductor enhanced active deflectors, if used with others
heavyweight giant, active moons death within 1 minute. hardened microchips. Electronics: Combination of rad hardened chips, fault tolerant chips
Failure within seconds
* Radiation belts are almost entirely particle radiation - so a blizzard of electrons, protons, and ionised atoms. Moving at near light speed these
cut DNA and microchip circuits, and fly in curves around countermeasures.
49
General notes:
An average human is…

...taken to be 160 cm tall, weighing 110 kg. With regards to radiation dose: Being shorter or thinner will
reduce total absorbed dose (less surface area to intercept it) and being heavier will mean lower dose per
kg. As muscle is denser than fat (which also makes it harder for radiation to penetrate deeply) this
suggests a shorter than average person in good physical shape, and with dense bone structure and
muscle, will have a slight survival advantage.
Mass vs gravity for solid worlds:

It would be nice and simple if a world with 2 Earth masses had 2 Earth gravities. Unfortunately, gravity at
the surface of a world not only depends on its mass, but how far the surface is from its centre. If you
increase the mass, dialling the surface gravity up, you're also piling on extra layers of rock (or ice, metal,
etc) and moving the surface further away from the core, which dials it back down again. If you go to
extremes you can play some fairly weird tricks: A world made only of very dense elements (e.g. iridium
or osmium) could be only hundreds of km across, but have Earth-like gravity. A world made only of the
very lightest elements could have a much bigger mass than Earth but lower surface gravity (for example
Saturn has 100 X Earth's mass, but it's almost all gas, so the 'surface' gravity is only the same as Earth's).
To create consistent tables I'm assuming that the solid worlds which formed beyond a star’s goldilocks
zone are mainly made of an ice/silicate rock mixture, and those closer are made of silicate rock with a
small amount of heavier material concentrated in the core, (possibly with a layer of ice or water over the
top). If you'd like to design something more extreme the equation for surface gravity is:
Where g is the surface gravity (the acceleration a falling object will have at the surface in meters per
second per second), M is the mass of the world in question, r is its radius, and G is the gravitational
constant (about 6.674×10−11 m3⋅kg−1⋅s−2 ). Another equation that can be used is:
Where ρ is the mean average density of the world in question in kg/ cubic meter. Below is a table of the
densities of the major worlds in our solar system, and of some common planet building materials.
Table giving average planetary and material densities and masses:

Planet Average Density (kg/m3) Mass (kg)
Mercury 5400 3.301 × 1023
Venus 5200 4.8685 × 1024
Earth 5500 5.972 × 1024
Mars 3900 6.417 × 1023
Jupiter 1300 1.9 x 1027
Saturn 700 5.683 × 1026
Uranus 1300 1.02×1026
Neptune 1600 8.68 x 1025
Silicate rock 2700 N/A
Iron 7860 N/A
Ice/water 920/1000 N/A
50
Ring systems, antimatter mines and collection methods:
Ring systems are both interesting locations, and useful resources, in their own right. Made of
innumerable dust-to-boulder sized objects, each on their own orbit, a major ring system can represent
trillions of tons of raw materials. Rings of worlds further from the nearest star’s goldilocks zone are likely
to be larger, made of ice (which makes drinking water, oxygen, and hydrogen fuel), carbon compounds
(which gives methane and ethane fuel, as well as basic fertilizer), and traces of rock and metals. Ring
systems within the goldilocks zone or closer are likely to be made of rocky materials, perhaps with traces
of water hidden below the ring particles' surfaces. Ring systems have another useful feature: Cosmic
radiation, which fills all of space, generates small but useful amounts of antimatter as it strikes a major
ring system. The amounts are not enough to be used as fuel themselves (unless you are fielding
micro-scale starships) but are enough to be collected using electromagnetic scoops, and used to
supercharge or 'spike' fusion or fission engines, like nitrous injection for a race car.
On the negative side they're hazards to navigation - far more like the asteroid belt encountered by the
Millenium Falcon in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ than actual asteroid belts are - actual asteroid belts are so
dispersed you’d be hard put to spot the next asteroid along. While most of the trillions of ring particles
are little more than sand or pebbles, some are boulders, and a few are shepherd moons a few km across.
Collisions with km sized objects are not needed to cripple a ship in any case – hitting even a pinhead
sized object at spacecraft speeds could be disastrous. For a breakdown of what kind of damage an object
of a given size could do, if hit at a particular speed have a look at the table on the next page...
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Table showing the effects of hitting particles of various sizes, at various sub-light speeds
Speed Mass (Kg) Tons of TNT Weapon comparable to? Damage pattern and visuals Countermeasures?
(km/sec) equivalent
% lightspeed
7 km/sec 0.000001 0.0000000006 Cumulative erosion effect Penetration will occur if the hull is less than 3 times as thick as Shielding:
(Low Earth the impactor, and of similar density. Impactor will shatter on Whipple shielding (see p57)
0.001 0.000006 10 + sniper rounds
Orbit orbital
velocity) 1 0.006 10 RPG-6 anti tank grenades impact with the hull, entering the vehicle as a narrow cone of Avoidance:
0.0023 % high speed particles, similar to a shotgun blast. There will be a At these speeds avoidance may
1000 6 Tellermine-43 anti tank mine be possible with good tracking.
brief flash of light on impact, caused by a short lived bubble of
11 km/sec 0.000001 0.000000014 Cumulative erosion effect
plasma. This can cause EMP type damage to nearby Design: Construct vehicle to be
(Earth
0.001 0.000014 U.S Mk2 fragmentation grenade electronics, trigger damaging electrical discharges from thinnest along it’s direction of
escape
velocity) 1 0.014 24 RPG-43 warheads charged surfaces, and create electrical shorts. travel, minimising size of
0.0037% damage cone
1000 14.5 A ‘Crockett’ nuclear grenade If the hull is < 5 times the impactor diameter the shockwave
42.1 km/sec 0.000001 0.00000021 Cumulative erosion effect
will blast fragments off the backside of the hull at high speed,
(solar system even if no penetration occurs. If no penetration occurs a
0.001 0.00021 U.S.Mk3 concussion grenade
escape hemispherical crater will form. Shockwaves will pass through
velocity) 1 0.21 WW2 parachute ground mine the hull material, reflecting from edges and creating cracking
0.014%
1000 210 B61-12 nuclear bunker buster at constructive interference sites. Pressurised systems may
explode even if penetration does not occur., as long as the
crater depth is greater than ⅓ the wall thickness.
● Particles > 10 mm will usually destroy or disable a vehicle
● Particles > 5mm will seriously damage a vehicle.
● Particles between 0.2 mm and 5 mm will create a hole
similar in size to themselves, but largely vaporise on impact.
● Smaller particles (< 0.2 mm) will erode external surfaces
3000 km/sec 0.000001 0.001075 1 kg of high explosive The initial release of energy projects away from the impact Design: As above
(interstellar 0.001 1.075 1 metric ton of high explosive point, and into the target, in a very narrow cone shape.
generation
ship speed) 1 1075 B54 Atomic Demolition Munition Materials caught in the cone will be violently heated, melted,,
and at larger yields may vaporize. Heat and light re-emerged
1% 1000 1075,000 Warhead of an RT-2 soviet ICBM.
by material within the cone will cause a flash of heat and light.
6000 km/sec 0.000001 0.0043 4 to 5 kg of TNT Heated material will expand rapidly away from the cone as a
( interstellar 0.001 4.3 4 to 5 metric tons of high of TNT shockwave. The overall effect at lower particle masses will be
probe
velocity) 1 4300 W45 Atomic DemolitionMunition broadly similar to a lightning strike, and at higher masses to a
2% 1000 4,300,000 Mk 14 strategic nuclear device low yield nuclear detonation.
60,000 0.000001 0.4436 400 to 500 kg of high explosive

Majority of the energy and momentum released directly will Interception/diversion: Possible
km/sec be confined in a very narrow tube (technically a cone, but with very advanced tracking,
0.001 443.6 450 tons of high explosive
20% spreading incredibly slightly) with one end at the impact point. but risks creating a debris and
1 443,600 ‘Ivy King’ fission bomb radiation field on same
Wider damage is caused by secondary effects: Massive release
1000 443,600,000 9 X Tsar Bomba, biggest nuke heading,
of radiation along cone superheats surrounding materials, ● An cloud of smart dust
150,000 0.000001 3.329 3 tons of high explosive material objects in cone are vaporised. Superheated matter ahead of the ship.
km/sec emits energy as a flash of intense heat and light, and rapidly ● An array of lasers paired
50% 0.001 3,329 ½ blast of Mark 7 ‘Thor’ nuke
expands as a huge shockwave. Overall effect similar to a with an electrical field
1 3,329,000 Mark 14 thermonuclear weapon
nuclear detonation with a pillar shaped, rather than spherical,
1000 3,329,000,000 67 X Tsar Bomba, biggest nuke fireball. Avoidance: needs very
advanced tracking, high g
296,794 0.000001 130.8 7 X ‘Crockett’ nuclear grenades. maneuvers and rapid response.
km/sec
99% 0.001 130,800 ¼ X Ivy King fission bomb
Design: As above
1 130,800,000 25 X Tsar Bomba, biggest nuke
1000 130,800,000,000 Impact of a 1km asteroid.
52
Size vs mass vs gravity for gas giant planets:
Pressures in a gas giant's core are much higher than those inside a rocky world - so they can compress
the hydrogen gas filling them to an absurd degree. As a result, once they reach about 71000 km radius
(Jupiter sized), giant planets don't grow much wider no matter how much heavier they get. Even a full
fledged red dwarf star might only be 20% wider than Jupiter – and that's over 4 times heavier than the
heaviest super-heavyweight gas giant.
Planets can heat their moons with just their gravity…

Most moons, like most planets, have slightly elliptical orbits, so sometimes they're closer to their primary
and sometimes they're further away. When they're closer the primary’s gravity stretches a moon slightly,
as one side of the moon is nearer to the primary and feels more of its gravity, and when they're further
away the moon relaxes back into a more spherical shape. This makes the rocks grind against each other,
producing heat through friction, warming their cores and (if the moon is big enough to collect enough
heat this way) stimulating volcanic activity - a process known as tidal heating (p59). The rules of thumb
are:
● The heating gets smaller quite quickly the further a moon is from its primary
● The heating gets bigger the more elliptical the moons orbit is,
● The heating gets bigger the wider the moon is
● The heating gets bigger the heavier its primary is.
Other things, like angle of orbit, how fluid the interior of the moon and the primary are, and how the
gravity of any other moons influence its orbit, also play a role in how much heating it gets - exceptions to
the rules of thumb are certainly possible. If you’re feeling maths-y the basic equation for calculating tidal
heating rate, assuming a non-spinning moon with an orbit in line with the giant’s equator, is here:
.
Where Etidal is energy in watts, R, n, a, e are respectively the moon's mean radius, mean orbital motion,
orbital distance, and eccentricity. Mh is the host (or central) body's mass and ‘Im (k2)’ is a modifier based
on things like fluidity of the moon’s interior (for our purposes here take it as 0.5 for a solid moon and 1
for a molten or liquid moon).
Many moons won’t spin relative to their primaries (see ‘tidal locking’ page 60) - they’ll always keep the
same face towards it - but If the moon is spinning that adds extra tidal heating, as different parts of it
feel the primary’s pull the strongest.
If the moon is very large compared to its primary - large enough for them both to orbit around a
common point (called a barycentre) between them - it can be considered a double planet. Double planet
component’s can both feel significant tidal forces, triggering volcanic activity in both if they’re close
enough.
Gas giants vs brown dwarf 'sub-stars':

How big does a gas giant planet have to be to become a star? Well a big one might already have been
one… sort of: Stars are huge balls of gas that shine by fusing hydrogen in their cores, and to do that they
need at least 7.5% of our Sun's mass to generate enough pressure. Gas giant planets are (less, but still)
huge balls of gas that don't fuse anything – Jupiter, for example, has 0.1% the Sun's mass. Between them
53
are 'brown dwarfs': Balls of gas that fuse deuterium, hydrogen's easier-to-fuse sibling. A gas ball only
needs to be 1.3% the Sun's mass, or 13 times Jupiter's, for deuterium fusion to happen. But that division
is blurry: A gas ball with unusually concentrated deuterium could fuse it at 11 Jupiter masses, and a very
deuterium poor one might need to hit 16 Jupiter masses.
Deuterium isn't as common as hydrogen, and brown dwarfs run through theirs in a few million years
then cool to become almost identical to gas giant planets - up to 21 Jupiter masses they'll be identical to
giant planets within 500 million years. This has a practical upshot: Deuterium is the fusion drive fuel of
choice, and can be mined from gas giants - but those heavier than 11 Jupiter masses may already have
used theirs by shining as a brown dwarf.
Gas giants vs ice giants:

Although all gas giants heavier than Jupiter stay the same size as their cores crush down under the extra
weight, the mass and radius of much lighter giants are connected. That’s how we get the ice giant
planets, like Uranus and Neptune: Although they have a broadly similar composition to Jupiter and
Saturn they’re only around a half to a third of the diameter or even less, as their mass (and resulting
gravity) aren’t enough to cause the same incredible levels of compression in their cores. At these sizes a
smaller mass does lead to a smaller diameter, until the gas content drops low enough for them to
essentially be rocky worlds with very thick atmospheres (see Habitable rogues p43) at 3.5 to 4 Earth
diameters - or about 20 Earth masses for worlds made of silicate rock.
54
Glossary of terms:
Radiation countermeasures for space vehicles:
Deflectors:
These use a power source to generate a force field (magnetic, electric, or gravitational) that deflects or diverts
radiation...
Electrostatic:
This gives the ship a powerful electric charge. As alike charges repel each other the gas particles in interstellar
space, the majority of which have a positive charge, can be deflected by a powerful charge. Not effective against
neutral particles X-rays and gamma rays.
Electromagnetic deflector (combination electrostatic and magnetic):

Combining the electric and magnetic shields allows more charged particle radiation to be deflected with a lower
overall power, but is a more advanced technology needing finer control. Not effective against neutral particles,
X-rays and gamma rays.
Gravitational:
An intense gravitational field can divert charged and neutral particles, gamma rays and X-rays (in fact all radiation),
but is difficult to generate: In nature only low mass (around an Earth mass to asteroid mass) black holes would
produce a field with both the size and intensity for a space vehicle.
Plasma:
A spacecraft can be surrounded by a bubble of plasma (electrically charged gas). This would inflate an existing
electric field, deflecting electrically charged particles more effectively than either a simple magnetic or electric
field. However it is very power intensive to maintain. Not effective against X-rays and gamma rays, less effective
against neutrals.
Magnetic :
A powerful magnetic field that extends far out beyond the hull of the ship. This diverts the electrically charged
subatomic particles in interstellar space. Not effective against neutral particles, gamma rays, or X-rays.
Barriers:
These are physical obstacles that soak up radiation, as opposed to diverting or deflecting it. Different types of
radiation are optimally absorbed by different materials, but in general a huge chunk of ‘dumb’ material is
effective...
Cryogenic hydrogen:
In principle hydrogen makes the best radiation shielding material against subatomic particles, as it doesn’t produce
secondary radiation. However hydrogen gas isn’t dense enough, so a powerful cryogenic mechanism is needed to
liquify it. It can then be pumped into heavily insulated tanks surrounding the inhabited areas of the ship, where it
can double as a fuel source.
Graded Z material:
Z is the symbol for atomic mass. By building a shield out of layers of material with a progressively lower Z (E.G. first
lead, then iron, aluminium, carbon) primary particle radiation is stopped, and the secondary radiation progressively
dissipates in the lighter layers. This allows thinner, solid, shielding but is more difficult to build effectively.
Hydrogenated boron nitride nanotube material:

Shielding made of boron nitride nanotubes, with hydrogen packed in between. It combines high particle radiation
resistance with structural strength. Advanced tech, but allows intrinsically rad resistant vehicles to be built.
55
Hydrogenated (hydrogen rich) material:
A simpler way of using hydrogen against particle radiation is to chemically incorporate it into a compound that’s
easier to make into a liquid or solid. This reduces its effectiveness, as the other component will produce secondary
radiation, but is much simpler to build. Examples are water, ice, thick plastic, or organic matter.
High Z, high density shielding:

Shielding made of a material that has a high Z number, and a dense, close packed, structure (lead, depleted
uranium, some kinds of concrete are good examples). This provides a high gamma and X-ray resistance, as well as
some structural strength.
Other kinds of radiation hardening:

Anti radiation diet:
Certain foods contain higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants that allow the body to better repair radiation
damage, mop up radiation produced toxins, and deal with radiation induced illnesses. These include, but are not
limited to: Pectin fiber, fish, strawberries, blueberries, kale, duckweed and spinach
Anti-radiation drugs:
Anti radiation drugs can act to stabilise DNA and proteins against radiation effects, encourage natural mechanisms
for dealing with radiation caused damage and illness, neutralise radiation created toxins, or prevent the body
absorbing products of radiation in the environment. Examples include Radiogardase, PLX5622, and Iodine
supplements
Fault tolerant electronics:

These are capable of detecting and correcting errors and malfunction caused by radiation. This can mean ECC
(error correcting circuits) that check for and correct corrupted data, scrubber circuits that scan the memory for
corrupted data using parity bits and repair it, redundant elements such as triple redundant bits that operate
democratically, or watchdog timers that will do a hard system reset (switch it off and on again folks) if the system
does not provide an ‘I’m Ok’ signal regularly.
Gene engineering:
Genetic splicing for greater resistance to radiation seeks to incorporate selected pieces of genetic code from
naturally rad-resistant organisms, usually simpler ones, into other more advanced life. Donor organisms might
include the archaea Thermococcus gammatolerans, the multi-extremophile bacterium Deinococcus Radiodurans,
Geodermatophilus, and Hymenobacter, as well as multicellular organisms such as Tardigrades and the Habrobracon
hebetor wasp.
Nanotechnology:
Often considered a branch of cybernetics, this involves colonising an organism with microscopic machines that
would repair radiation damage and destroy radiation induced toxins and illness
Radiation hardened electronics:

Radiation hardened electronics are specifically designed to stay functional in a high radiation environment. This can
mean printing the tracks onto an insulating substrate like silicon carbide or gallium nitride, built in material
shielding such as borophosphosilicate glass layers, or using technologies such magnetoresistive RAM that are
inherently less affected by radiation.
56
Impact countermeasures for spacecraft:
Beryllium or graphite foil shield:

A thin barrier of temperature resistant, electrically conducting, material, pushed some distance ahead of the
spacecraft. Impacting particles punch through, but are vaporised or shattered by the impact and disperse before
reaching the spacecraft proper. Useful at speeds up to 40% of lightspeed.
Electromagnetic deflector (dust particles):

Extremely powerful electric and magnetic fields, shaped to divert electrically charged particles either into a vessel’s
engines for use as propellant, or away from the ship entirely to avoid collision. Used in conjunction with a laser
array, which gives neutral particles an electric charge.
Ice plough:
A thick (several meters) barrier of dumb material - perhaps cometary ice - acting to absorb impacts.
Laser array:
A set of high intensity lasers, which may protect from oncoming debris in several ways:
● Pushing on small particles with radiation pressure.
● Vaporising small particles entirely requires (highest power and accuracy).
● Vaporising one section of a particle, so that the vapour acts like rocket exhaust, pushing the particle out of
the vehicle's path (less power intensive).
● Ionising smaller particles, so they may be affected and pushed by an electrical or magnetic field. See
'Electromagnetic deflector (dust particles)' above.
Multiple redundancy, distributed, systems:

Build multiple versions of key systems, and distribute them widely through the vessel so any single impact is
unlikely to damage all of them - Star Trek fans will know this as the reason the Borg’s ships are so tough. A
distributed computer system is one example. A more extreme version is to have a swarm of vessels, each capable
of carrying out the mission independently, numerous enough that at least one will survive the journey.
Whipple shield:
A multilayer shield with a 5 - 10 cm of spacing between layers: The outer layer (called the ‘bumper’) shatters the
impactor on penetration. The resulting spray of particles behind the bumper spreads in a cone shape, reducing
force per area. Particles are then caught by subsequent layers of materials such as kevlar, backed with a ‘wall’ layer
of hard material. Effective for particles up to millimeter size, at speeds up to 100 km/sec.
General terms:
Black hole:
A region of space where the gravity of an object (often the core of a large star that has died) has become so
powerful that no object or form of energy could move through space fast enough to escape it - there is a spherical
border around the crushed object called the ‘event horizon’, marking the point of no return. Things that cross the
event horizon have, for practical purposes, dropped out of our universe, hence the name. May range in size from
only centimeters or meters across (primordial black holes, made in the big bang) to bigger than a solar system
(supermassive black holes, made when many smaller holes pull each other in and merge). Very advanced
civilisations might manufacture them.
Goldilocks zone:
Also called the 'habitable zone' this is the spherical shell around a star where the temperature is not too hot to
evaporate, nor too cold to freeze, liquid water. In our solar system it extends from just inside the orbit of Venus to
just outside the orbit of Mars. For smaller, dimmer, stars it will be smaller, for bigger stars it will be bigger, and
thicker.
57
Hill sphere:
The outer edge of a gas giant’s gravitational dominance. Within the sphere a free object will tend to either fall
towards the giant or orbit it. Outside the Hill sphere a free object will tend to fall towards, or orbit, the star that the
giant orbits - or, for a rogue, the centre of the galaxy. The Hill sphere isn’t the edge of the giant’s gravity, only where
it can dominate over all other gravitational influences.
Magnetar:
A type of neutron star (see below). Made in the death-by-supernova of a large star like a ‘regular’ neutron star, but
a portion of the supernova’s immense energy is absorbed by the neutron star’s magnetic field. Combined with the
the neutron star's immense gravity that pumped up magnetic field is so powerful it effectively changes the laws of
chemistry and physics nearby: Light moves in curves and only in certain directions, atoms are long thin cylinders
that combine in otherwise impossible ways, particles appear and disappear and the flow of time varies. Any object
or signal entering this region will be utterly warped and scrambled, humans and ships would be torn apart
thousands of kilometers away, and computers would break down within a million kilometers. Magnetars give out
massive bursts of gamma radiation, powerful enough to cause a mass extinction on an Earth like planet from a
distance of up to 20 lightyears.
Neutron star:
As a star dies in a supernova the core is compressed so hard that the outer layers of atoms collapse, and their
nuclei merge together to form a neutron rich mega-nucleus 10 - 20 km wide. Weighing at least as much as Earth’s
Sun, its gravity is so intense (200 billion+ Earth gravities) that space is severely distorted, light moves in curves so
more than half the surface is visible, and a pinhead of its crust weighs as much as a mountain. That crust is the
hardest substance thought to exist, sometimes called neutronium. The neutron star may spin at a quarter of the
speed of light. A neutron star’s magnetic field is around a hundred million times stronger than Earths, but some
may reach trillions or quadrillions times Earth’s (see magnetar, above). It produces no energy by fusion but, heated
by the supernova, will still be over 100,000 degrees celsius after a hundred million years.
Pulsar:
A neutron star which emits an intense beam of radiation from each of its magnetic poles. The magnetic poles are
offset from its rotational poles, so from a distance the object flashes like a lighthouse. This rapid pulsing of its
intensity gives the type of object its name - and produces an artificial sounding hum in radio telescopes. This led to
the radio astronomers who first found them designating them LGM - 1, 2, 3 etc. That stands for Little Green Men.
Protostars:
Stars and brown dwarf sub-stars condense - slowly by human standards - from vast, collapsing, clouds of dust and
gas. In the very centre of one the hydrogen gas is caught in the grip of runaway gravity, and the density goes up and
up. The gas forms a huge ball - maybe ten times its final size - which starts to heat up as the pressure in the core
climbs. This is the protostar, but although it’s getting 'warm' (tens of thousands degrees kelvin) it isn’t shining as a
star yet – it will take a million years of slowly contracting and heating up to get to the stage where fusion starts. In
the meantime it's an ill-tempered child, spitting out flares and storms of protons, and scooping material off the
inner edge of its protoplanetary disk (see below) in vast clumps with its magnetic field.
● T-Tauri stars: These are less than 3 solar masses, and usually less than 10 million years old. Around half
have protoplanetary discs surrounding them, and often blast vast jets of gas out of their poles. Where
these strike the surrounding gas and dust they form shockwaves, which glow, creating Herbig-Haro
nebulae.
● Herbig stars: These are 2 - 8 solar masses, and usually less than 10 million years old, and may also be
accompanied by protoplanetary disks. Their flares and storms are more intense and long range than those
of T-Tauri stars.
● Protostars bigger than 8 solar masses have never been observed, so we don’t know what they're like -
such large stars go through their entire early youth before their birth nebula clears enough to see them.
58
Protoplanetary disk: Around a protostar the remaining nebula gas and dust are swirling faster and faster as the
whole cloud shrinks - eventually the spin's centrifugal force* starts to pull the left-over cloud into a disk: In that disk
smoke-sized particles stick together to form dust grains, dust grains form rocks, rocks form asteroids (near the
warm protostar) and comet cores (far from the warmth), which form dwarf planets. There are trillions of them,
densely clustered in the disk. It’s still pitch black because, although there’s a glow from the protostar, the disk is so
dense the thickness of it is still in darkness. The inner section of the disk is most dangerous, both due to the
unstable protostar star and because the rocky material has a higher velocity here.
Quark star:
A theoretical object, in which the protons and neutrons of matter have merged, producing a ball of quarks miles
wide. Even denser, with even stronger gravity, than a neutron star. Barely holds itself up against collapsing as a
black hole.
White dwarf:
About the size of Earth, this is the dead core of a medium sized star, after it has used up all its fuel and thrown its
outer layers into space. Although not as reality warpingly dense as a neutron star this super hot ball of fusion
by-products (usually helium, carbon or oxygen) is still extremely dense - 1,000,000 metric tons per cubic meter -
and has enough gravity (350,000 times Earth’s) to measurably distort space and change the passage of time.
Interstellar Ramjet engine:

A form of sub-lightspeed interstellar travel, combining a fusion reactor and a large electromagnetic scoop. The
scoop pulls in the (very) thin interstellar hydrogen gas to feed the fusion reactor - so the ship doesn’t need to carry
fuel. The original design is impractical: The scoop’s drag is huge, and the interstellar gas near the Sun is too thin.
Redesigns have solved these issues by:
● Creating a long plume of deuterium gas (which is much more efficient fusion fuel than interstellar
hydrogen) leading out of the solar system, so the scoop can be smaller for the same reactor power.
● Using the interstellar medium as propellant rather than fuel and beaming energy to the craft via a
microwave or laser transmission. This way the scoop only needs to redirect the interstellar gas, not
actually catch it, reducing drag.
● Using the scoop without the reactor, as a ‘parachute-brake’ dragging on the interstellar gas, to decelerate
at the target system.
Roche limit:
This is how close a moon can orbit to its primary before tidal forces (see below) turn it to rubble/a ring system. It is
partly determined by the size of the gas giant, and partly by the mass and radius of the moon. Generally, the bigger
the primary and wider the moon the more vulnerable it will be to tidal forces, and the denser the moon and higher
its gravity the less vulnerable it will be. For example: You could orbit Earth inside Saturn's ring system without it
breaking up, because Saturn is a light gas giant, and Earth is a dense terrestrial planet with strong gravity. But a
super heavyweight gas giant would have stronger gravity and tidal forces at the same distance, and so it's Roche
limit for Earth would be much further out. If Earth crossed it our planet would be ripped apart.
Tidal forces / tidal heating:

These are, as the name implies, the forces responsible for raising tides - specifically they’re gravity acting in a
particular way, and come in two brands:Tidal forces from a moon’s orbit being an ellipse rather than a circle, and
those from it’s rotation:
● If a moon’s orbit deviates significantly from a circle (and most do) then, at some points in its orbit, it is
nearer to its primary. When it’s nearer the side of the moon facing the primary is pulled on by the
primary’s gravity more, and the side facing away is pulled less, which stretches it. As the moon moves
further away the overall gravity, and the amount of stretch, lessens. Stretching and unstretching the moon
causes the rocks that make it to grind against each other, producing heat. That heat energy is coming from
the kinetic energy of the moon’s orbit, so over time the tidal forces rob the moon of some of its orbital
energy, which brings its orbit closer to a circle.
● Tidal forces due to the moon’s rotation occur because, at any point in its orbit, the moon is being pulled in
59
the direction of the planet, and stretched, at least a bit. If the moon is spinning then different parts of it
are being stretched out at different times), and once again the rocks are forced to shift about and change
shape, turning the kinetic energy of the moon’s spin into heat.
Eventually the moon settles into a nearly circular orbit, with the same face always pointing towards its primary
(tidal locking - see below). However, if there are other moons nearby whose gravity can tug it, it’s orbit can change
back to an ellipse again and re-start the heating process.
Tidal locking:
The majority of gas giant moons (and many moons of large rocky or icy worlds) will be tidally locked to their giant -
that means they spin so that 1 day = 1 orbit around the giant, and as a result the giant will always appear in the
same spot in the moon’s sky and the moon will always keep the same face towards the giant (this is what happens
with Earth’s Moon too).This is down to the tidal forces(see above) circularising the moon’s orbit and changing its
spin.
60
Equations used:
Introduction:
If you’d like to really get into the nitty gritty of designing these worlds, here are some of the most important
equations (and, later, the reference articles and papers) I’ve used. If you have a hankering for a 1 Earth gravity
world that’s 500km across, and want to know how dense it needs to be, or have triggered a colossal radiation pulse
and need to know the minimum safe distance, etc, etc - here are the tools.
Name Description Equation Symbols
Gravitational force Tells you the force felt by a small object near a very 𝐺𝑀 F = surface gravity (Newtons per Kg)
equation 1 large object (e.g. a planet) 𝐹= 2 G = Gravitational constant (0.000000000066743)
𝑟 M = Mass of planet (Kg)
r = distance between planet centre and small object (meters)
Gravitational force Tells you the force between two objects of 𝑀𝑚 F = Gravitational force between the objects (newtons)
equation 2 comparable size (e.g. two planets 𝐹 = 𝐺 2
G = Gravitational constant (0.000000000066743)
𝑟 M = Mass of larger object (Kg)
M = Mass of smaller object (Kg)
r = distance between objects (meters)
Gravitational force Tells you the force felt by a very small object near a 4π F = surface gravity (Newtons per Kg)
equation 2 very large object (e.g. a planet), calculated from 𝐹 = 3
𝐺ρ𝑟 G = Gravitational constant (0.000000000066743)
average planetary density. ρ = Density of object (Kg per meter3)
r = distance between planet centre and smaller object (meters)
π = 3.14 (approx)
Electrostatic force Force between two charged objects 𝑞 𝑞 F = Force between the objects (newton)
1 2
equation 𝐹 = 𝐾 2
K = Coulomb's constant (8,987,000,000 approx)
q1 = Charge of object 1 (coulombs)
𝑟
q2 = Charge of object 2 (coulombs)
r = distance between objects (meters)
Centrifugal / Finds the size of the apparent force felt by an object F = Outward force felt by the object (newton)
centripetal force spinning around a fixed point, using the 2 M = Mass of object(Kg)
𝑚𝑣
equation 1 straight-line-equivalent-speed. 𝐹 = 𝑟
r = radius of rotation (meters)
v = straight line speed (meters per second)
Centrifugal / Finds the size of the apparent force felt by an object 2 F = Outward force felt by the object (newton)
centripetal force spinning around a fixed point, using the rate of 𝐹 = 𝑚ω 𝑟 M = Mass of object(Kg)
equation 2 rotation (degrees of the circle turned per second) r = radius of rotation (meters)
⍵ = angular velocity (radians per second)
Orbital velocity Tells you what the velocity needed to hold a stable Vorbit = velocity (meters per second)
equation orbit 𝐺𝑀 G = Gravitational constant (0.000000000066743)
𝑉 𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡
= 𝑟 M = Mass of object you are orbiting (Kg)
r = radius of orbit (meters)
Atmospheric Tells you the change in pressure across a large height Ph = pressure at height h (pascals)
pressure equation difference in an atmosphere −𝑚𝑔ℎ/𝑘𝑇 P0 = pressure at height 0 (pascals)
𝑃 ℎ
= 𝑃 0
𝑒
e = 2.71828 (approx)
m = average mass of one molecule of atmosphere (kg)
g = force of gravity (newton per kg)
k = Boltzmann's constant ( 1.380649 × 10-23)
T = temperature (degrees kelvin)
61
Name Description Equation Symbols
General pressure Defines pressure (units pascals) as the force on a 𝐹 F = Force (newton)
equation surface per unit of area - usually 1 m2 𝑃 = 𝐴
A = Area (m2)
P = Pressure (pascals)
General fluid Tells you what the pressure change is due to a change ΔP = Change in pressure (pascals)
pressure-at-depth in height through a fluid. This fluid may be liquid or G = force of gravity on 1kg (newton per kg)
equation gas, but the equation assumes a constant density, so ∆𝑃 = ρ𝑔ℎ H = change in height (meters)
should be applied to atmospheres only across short ρ= density of fluid
distances.
Power A measure of how much energy is moving or being 𝐸 P = power (in watts, 1 watt = 1 joule per second)
emitted per unit of time 𝑃 = 𝑡
T = time (in seconds)
E = Energy (in Joules)
Irradiance equation Tells you the power absorbed by 1 m2 of surface at a 𝑃 P = Power of source (in watts)
1 given distance from radiation source of power P. 𝐼 = 2 I = irradiance in watts / m2
4π𝑟 r = distance to source in meters
Π = 3.14 (approx)
Irradiance equation Tells you the power absorbed by a surface with 𝑃 P = power passing through surface in watts
2 radiation of power P falling on it. 𝐼 = 𝐴
I = irradiance in watts / m2
A = Surface area in m2.
Inverse square law

for irradiances
Tells you what the irradiance (power per square
meter) is at distance d1, given that we know what it is
𝐼 1 (𝑑 1) I1 = Irradiance at distance 1
I2 = irradiance at distance 2
at distance d2 𝐼 = d1 = Distance 1 from the source
2 (𝑑 2)2 d2 = Distance 2 from the source
Irradiated energy Tells you how much energy 1 m2 of surface received if E = Energy (joules)
absorbed by 1 m2 of struck with irradiance of I for a time of t 𝐸 = 𝐼𝑡 I = Irradiance (watts / m2)
a surface T = Time (seconds)
Radiation: Absorbed Tells you how much energy per kilogram an object has 𝐸 D = absorbed dose (gray)
dose absorbed from a radiation source. 𝐷 = 𝑚
E = energy (joules)
M = mass (kg)
Radiation: Equivalent Adjusts the absorbed dose when applied to D = absorbed dose (gray)
dose organisms, based on the type(s) of radiation, as each H = DW H = equivalent dose (sievert)
radiation has a different effect on biological tissue. W = Weighting Factor….
● X-rays, gamma rays, beta particles: 1
● Protons: 2
● Alpha particles, fission products, heavy nuclei: 20
Radiation: Exposure Indicates how much equivalent dose of radiation per 𝐻 R1 = exposure rate (sieverts per second)
rate 1 (biological) second each kilogram of tissue is receiving 𝑅1 = 𝑡
H = Equivalent dose (sieverts)
t = period of exposure (seconds)
Radiation: Exposure Indicates how much absorbed dose a non-biological 𝐷 R2 = exposure rate (sieverts per second)
rate 2 object is receiving, per second, from a radiation 𝑅2 = 𝑡
D = absorbed dose (gray)
(non-biological) source t = period of exposure (seconds)
Kinetic energy Tells you how much energy an object has in the form KE = kinetic energy (joules)
2
equation of motion, using its mass and velocity. 𝑚𝑣 m = mass (kg)
𝐾𝐸 = 2
v = velocity (meters per second)
( )
Kinetic energy Tells you how much energy an object moving close to 2
KE = kinetic energy (joules)
equation 2 lightspeed has in the form of motion, using its mass 𝑚𝑐 m = mass (kg)
(relativistic) and velocity. Near-lightspeed objects are governed by
𝐾𝐸 = − v = velocity (meters per second)
different rules.
1− ( ) 𝑣
𝑐 c = speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second)
62
Further reading:
Title Authors What’s it about? Link / where to find
Cosmic-ray Particles in the Galactic Center: Blowing F. Yusef-Zadeh Paper detailing how the cosmic https://arxiv.org/pdf/1912.11057.pdf
in the Wind ray ionization rate is at least two
orders of magnitudes higher the
galactic core than in the disk.
Four Theories of Solar System Formation Royal Museums of Greenwich An article describing the original https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/origin-solar-sy
competing theories of solar stem
system formation, and how the
current idea of solar system
growth was arrived at.
Globular clusters could host interstellar civilizations Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Article detailing how globular https://phys.org/news/2016-01-globular-clusters-hos
Astrophysics star clusters are densely packed, t-interstellar-civilizations.html#:~:text=In%20fact%2C
holding a million stars in a ball %20only%20one%20planet,metal%2Drich%20as%20
only about 100 light-years across our%20Sun.
on average. They date back
almost to the birth of the Milky
Way and also could be good
places to look for civilizations
Is There Life on Pluto? Matt Williams Article describing how small, icy Is There Life on Pluto? - Universe Today
worlds such as Pluto might be https://www.universetoday.com/14315/is-there-life-
capable of supporting life in an on-pluto/#:~:text=As%20such%2C%20there%20is%2
ocean beneath their ice surface. 0simply%20no%20way%20life,possibility%20of%20lif
e%20being%20found%20inside%20the%20planet.
Kepler telescope glimpses population of Iain McDonald An article explaining how https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights
free-floating planets Eamonn Kerins evidence has been uncovered /kepler-telescope-glimpses-population-free-floating-
for “free-floating” planets, planets
planets that may be alone in
deep space, unbound to any Kepler K2 Campaign 9 – I. Candidate short-duration
host star. The results include events from the first space-based survey for
four new discoveries that are planetary microlensing | Monthly Notices of the
consistent with planets of Royal Astronomical Society | Oxford Academic
similar masses to Earth (oup.com)
Life-Sustaining Planets in Interstellar Space David J. Stevenson Paper detailing how, during planet Life-sustaining planets in interstellar space? | Nature
formation, rock and ice embryos
of Earth’s mass may be formed https://www.nature.com/articles/21811
and some of these may be ejected
from the solar system. These can
retain hydrogen-rich atmospheres
which have base pressures of 102
-104 bars. Their surface can exceed
0℃ allowing water oceans whose
surface pressure and temperature
are like Earth’s deep oceans.
Orphan Planets: It's a Hard Knock Life. Seth Shostak An article from Space.com https://www.space.com/818-orphan-planets-hard-kn
describing the way in which a near ock-life.html
encounter between two planets
can throw one out of a solar
system.
63
Planetary Interiors Peter Gallagher A set of lecture notes from https://www.tcd.ie/Physics/people/Peter.Gallagher/l
Trinity college, Dublin, going ectures/PY4A03/pdfs/PY4A03_lecture10n11_ineriors
through the basics of internal .ppt.pdf
heat production in planets.
Presence of water on exomoons orbiting Patricio Javier Ávila, Paper on how exomoons orbiting https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/internatio
free-floating planets: a case study Tommaso Grassi, Free Floating Planets has been nal-journal-of-astrobiology/article/presence-of-water
Stefano Bovino, Andrea predicted by several models. -on-exomoons-orbiting-freefloating-planets-a-case-st
Chiavassa, Barbara Some of these moons are able to udy/1863C1DB337F974DF8B2ACE4D5BB8319
Ercolano, Sebastian retain an atmosphere capable of
Oscar Danielache and ensuring the long-term stability of
Eugenio Simoncini liquid water on their surface.
Rogue Planet Find Makes Astronomers Ponder CNN CNN article describing the http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/10/06/spa
Theory discovery of rogue planets that ce.planets.reut/index.html
have apparently formed away
from any parent star.
Rogue Rocky Planet Found Adrift in the Milky Way Redd, Nola Taylor Most rogue planets found so far https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rogue-ro
have been massive gas giants, cky-planet-found-adrift-in-the-milky-way/
but in this paper researchers
may have found one smaller
even than Earth, possibly the
smallest rogue planet ever seen.
Stability of the Liquid Water Phase on Mars: A C. P. Reghunadhan Nair and Paper describing how, under an https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC719
Thermodynamic Analysis Considering Martian Vibhu Unnikrishnan‡ average Martian atmospheric 1838/
Atmospheric Conditions and Perchlorate Brine pressure of 600 Pa, the
Solutions saturated water solution of
sodium perchlorate is stable in
the liquid phase between 240
and 275 K. If the water is
contaminated with a mixture of
salts, an increased stability is
predicted, down to 180 K and up
to at least 298 K. Thus salty
liquid water can, in principle, be
stable on Mars.
The Cosmic Ray Radiation Dose in Interplanetary R.A. Mewaldt Paper detailing how https://www.researchgate.net/publication/22870731
Space – Present Day and Worst-Case Evaluations measurements of a Beryllium 7_The_Cosmic_Ray_Radiation_Dose_in_Interplaneta
isotope in polar ice cores show ry_Space-Present_Day_and_Worst-Case_Evaluations
that the cosmic-ray intensity was
higher 50 to 100 years ago. The
estimated radiation levels during
these earlier periods were up to
~1.7 times greater.
The Steppenwolf: A proposal for a habitable planet in
Dorian S. Abbot, Eric R. Switzer Article investigates the possibility https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-820
interstellar space
that a rogue planet could 5/735/2/L27/meta
maintain a liquid ocean under
layers of water ice and frozen
atmosphere as a result of
geothermal heat
There May Be 50 Billion Free-Floating Planets In Our Posted by Article examining research into https://earthsky.org/space/50-billion-free-floating-pl
Paul Scott Anderson how many rogue, or anets-in-milky-way/
Galaxy
free-floating planets wander the
depths of space unbound.
Results suggest there are some
50 billion free-floating planets in
our Milky Way galaxy
64

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For my family: Full of love, as complex as it is!

Hard SF Worldbuilding Cookbook #3: Rogue Planets

Self-published in the United Kingdom

© John Freeman 2021

The Hard SF Worldbuilding Cookbook #3: Rogue Planets

is in copyright. Subject to satisfactory exemption and

to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no

First published 2021

eBook and paperback edition prepared by DriveThruRPG.com community content program

DriveThruRPG.com is a trademark of OneBookShelf or its affiliates.

How to use this booklet: 6

Locations in interstellar space: 8

Basic rogue planet tropes: 17

Rogue gas giant planets - and their moon systems: 31

How many are there in our galaxy?

Where’s the nearest?

Are there intergalactic rogues?

What fraction of them have moons, or are double planets?

How long have they wandered?

A note on galactic directions and coordinates:

Age: 13 - 14 billion years old.

How to use this section:

Like? Earth's Moon 2 billion years ago. Life? No native life.

Max mass/radius: 0.1 ME/3000km

Gravity: 0.01g to 0.3g

Like: Martian poles, Ceres,

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

Like? Ceres, snowball Earth

Gravity: 0.01g to 1.2g

Like? Pluto, Charon, Hauema

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

Like? Exoplanet Kepler 138d

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

Double rogue planets:

How to use this section:

A few notes on using the section:

Inner radius range: N/A

Inner radius range: 60,000 km to 500,000 km - edge of main ring system

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

Orbits in? Main system

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

Orbits in? Main system Life? Conventional life unlikely

Orbits in? Main system

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)*

Min mass / radius: As H1 Weather: As in H1

Minimum gravity: As H1 Life: As in H1

Like? No confirmed examples

Orbits in? Main system

Min mass / radius: As H1 Weather: As in H1

Minimum gravity: As H1 Life: As in H1

Like? No known examples

Orbits in? Main system

*Masses given in Earth masses (ME)

● Chunks of destroyed protoplanets, representing different parts of a protoplanets structure:

An average human is…

Mass vs gravity for solid worlds:

Table giving average planetary and material densities and masses:

60,000 0.000001 0.4436 400 to 500 kg of high explosive

1000 130,800,000,000 Impact of a 1km asteroid.

Planets can heat their moons with just their gravity…

Gas giants vs brown dwarf 'sub-stars':

Gas giants vs ice giants:

Electromagnetic deflector (combination electrostatic and magnetic):

Masses given in Earth masses (ME)