Tau Ceti
| Tau Ceti | |
 Mountains of Solace near Ptichka's Landing | |
| Stellar characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cetus |
| Right ascension (Epoch J2000) | 01h 44m 04.0829s |
| Declination (Epoch J2000) | -15° 56' 14.928" |
| Spectral type | G8 V |
| Distance from Sol | 11.905 ± 0.007 ly |
| Other designations | Durre Menthor, Tau Cet, 52 Ceti, HD 10700, HR 509, BD-16°295, GCTP 365.00, GJ 71, LHS 146, LTT 935, LFT 159, SAO 147986, LPM 84, FK5 59, HIP 8102. |
| Planets | Krop Tor (I/b) Minyos (II/c) Krontep (III/d) Karn (IV/e) Gallifrey (V/g) Skaro (VI/f) |
Tau Ceti is a main sequence, yellow-orange dwarf (G8 Vp) that may be as much as 10 billion years old. It has about 81 to 82 percent of Sol's mass, around 77 percent its diameter (Pijpers et al, 2003), but only 59 percent of its luminosity (Saumon et al, 1996, page 17). The star does not appear to be as enriched as Sol in elements heavier than hydrogen ("metals") because it has only 22 to 74 percent of Sol's abundance of iron (Cayrel de Strobel et al, 1991, page 6).
Dust has been detected around Tau Ceti, as has been found in the Solar System (Kuchner et al, 1998 -- in pdf). There also may be an optical companion star seen in telescopes that is not actually bound by gravity to Tau Ceti, and the star does not appear to have a dim stellar or substellar companion based on astrometric measurements (Lippincott and Worth, 1980) or radial velocity variations (Campbell et al, 1988).
(boilerplate from SolStation.com)
Tau Ceti System
The Tau Ceti System was first explored in 2009 by the Sozvezdie Soviet spacecraft Ptichka with a followup survey mission in 2014, followed by a colonization mission in 2019. The system consists of six planets, Krop Tor, Minyos, Krontep, Karn, Gallifrey and Skaro, as well as a very large debris belt (the Time Barrier) starting at 9.5 AU and extending another 45 AU. Objects from the Time Barrier frequently drop into the inner system; the skies of the inner worlds are filled with comets depending on the season.
Of the worlds of the Tau Ceti system, only Gallifrey has a functional, earthlike ecosystem.
Images
The planet Gallifrey (Tau Ceti V), with moons Master and Doctor in the background.
Karn (Tau Ceti IV) is a super-Venus world with a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere.
Skaro (Tau Ceti VI), a "warm Neptune" world.
