[Space] FTL Ideas/Thoughts

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Sounds like a cozy little corner of space. I'd expect that most settlements are in habitats in oort clouds and asteroid rings, not on planets (or at least not anything more hospitable than Titan). How many native ecosystems do you really have in a 15ly radius?

Assuming one habitable world in each K-, G-, or F-class star* that is far enough away from a companion to have planets in the habitable zone?

Alpha Centauri A (4.39 ly)
Alpha Centauri B (4.39 ly)
Epsilon Eridani (10.5 ly)
Procyon (11.4 ly)
61 Cygni A (11.4 ly)
61 Cygni B (11.4 ly)
Epsilon Indi (11.8 ly)
Tau Ceti (11.9 ly)**
Groombridge 1618 (15.9 ly)

That's 9 possibles on a very optimistic scale; reality is probably limited to about half those.


* I don't consider M-class red dwarfs suitable due to the high probabilities of tide-locking and flares frying most planets that would be in the life zone.

K-class = orange dwarf
G-class = yellow dwarf
F-class = yellow-white

** It is possible that Tau Ceti has two planets in its habitable zone, but I only counted it once above.