Published in SF&Fantasy Workshop newsletter, January 2003
Exosolar Planets and You
by
Ron Vitale
Vulcan, Tatooine, and Iscandar—each of these planetary names conjures up a specific image in a reader’s mind, originating from three distinct science fiction intellectual properties (I’d be curious to see how many of you remember Iscandar). If you’re embarking to write your own science fiction story and need to create a planet as memorable as those mentioned above, I would suggest that you first do some research on exosolar (or also called extrasolar) planets. Not sure what an exosolar planet is? Back in 1995, two scientists from Switzerland, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of Geneva, discovered the first planet orbiting a star other than our own Sun. To date, scientists have discovered 102 exosolar planets orbiting 88 stars in the local vicinity of our quadrant of the Milky Way. And of those star systems, the following stars are known to contain multiple planets:
GJ 876, 55 Cancri, HD 37124, HD 12661, 47 Ursae Majoris, HD 168443, HD 82974, HD168443, HD74156, and Upsilon Andromedae.
For writers of science fiction, exosolar planets offer a gold mine of creative ideas for stories or novels. Recently, I found myself in need of creating a world for a science fiction story I had begun writing. Instead of designing the world strictly from my own creative process, I chose to do the research and learn more about real-life exosolar planets. Once I finished the initial groundwork, I opted to have the action in two of my stories take place in the 55 Cancri solar system (located 44 light years from Earth). For me, the added layer of authenticity strengthened my stories.
No matter if you’re interested in the history of the discovery of the first exosolar planets, the scientific means through which the planets were discovered, or wish to peruse a Encyclopedia on Extrasolar planets, the Internet has it all for you. Of course every writer is free to design his or her own world and fabricate every portion of the planet’s existence, but I believe the knowledge gained from a little research can go a long, long way. Ideas will spring eternal as you learn about the chaotic structure of each planet, aiding you in developing that mysterious new world you will write about.
To get you started, here is a list of some Internet resources to help you in your research:
California & Carnegie Planet Search Website: http://exoplanets.org/
Once on this site, click on the “General Information” link in the left-hand side of the page and learn more about multiple-planet systems, transiting planets, and read through the background information (extremely useful if you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of how an exosolar discovery is made). The “Scientific Research Site” contains detailed scientific information as well as a list of team members involved in the California & Carnegie Planet Search.
The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Website: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/planets/
This site offers a list of tutorials, reports, and links to other sites dealing with extosolar planets. I also found the 3D Map at http://www.generation.net/~mariob/astro/exoplan/intro-e.htm to be amazing! Being able to see the Sun in the center while rotating the other stars with planets in a three-dimensional environment added to my excitement of this new scientific field. Granted, I needed to install some Javascript software for the map to work, but the process was painless.
Planet Quest Website: http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
The Planet Quest site is NASA’s official Website for Extrasolar planets. Packed with future mission plans, a new world atlas (great for looking up information on all the 102 planets), a multimedia gallery, and a Web Showcase that lists links to other user friendly extrasolar planet sites, take time going through all the goodies here. You’re sure to find enough information to help you with your research.
So before you build a new world and begin writing, why not take some time to learn about the latest scientific discoveries in the field of exosolar planets? With the information available on the Internet, you can gather enough information to populate the galaxy out to 5,000 light years from the Sun. And with over 102 planets discovered, you’ll have plenty of new worlds to write about!
