Sorr System
System SummarySorr is a young binary star system at 22.2 million years of age, consisting of a blue giant and a sun-like star. The two stars orbit each other at a significant distance, and thus have each developed planet systems of their own. Conditions have been favourable, and a handful of potentially habitable planets have emerged. But a dark shadow looms over the future of Sorr—the impending cataclysm following the supernova of the ageing blue giant star.
System Profile: Subjects Of InterestSorr AThe larger of the two stars, Sorr A dominates the system at 10.8 times the mass of the sun and 28,345 times its luminosity. Sorr A's formation process consumed most of the gas clouds and material in the near proximity, and later blasted more material away from the inner Sorr system with its intense stellar winds. Despite its overwhelming shine, the curtains are closing for this player on the celestial stage. Now 22.2 million years of age, Sorr A has consumed almost all of its fuel, and has ballooned to 83.6 times the solar radius. The giant star is expected to become a supernova in around 100,000 to 200,000 years, likely tearing the system apart with the explosion.
Sorr BSorr B is the smaller, sun-like star of the Sorr system. It orbits Sorr A at a distance of 315 AU. Sorr B weighs in at 0.85 solar masses, and is tiny compared to its companion star. Due to its relatively far distance from the blue giant, Sorr B was able to escape the fate of the majority of its material being stolen by the larger star during its formation, and survived to grow to a fairly respectable size. When Sorr A's stellar winds threw material to the outer system, some of this material became captured in the orbit of Sorr B, while others merged with protoplanets around it, adding to their mass where otherwise, there would have been insufficient material to form many planets. Some remainder debris has coalesced into an asteroid belt in the outer Sorr B system.
Compared to the ageing Sorr A, Sorr B is still at an
extremely young age. If the system is able to survive the upcoming supernova of Sorr A, its habitable planets would certainly have a possibility in developing life in the long run.
UitiaponsulaUitiaponsula is a gas giant in a tight orbit around Sorr A that has influenced the evolution of the system to a rather significant extent. At 12.5 Jupiter masses, a little more massive and it would have been considered a brown dwarf. While it orbits Sorr A at 5.32 AU, this is a very close orbit for such a large and luminous blue giant. As a result, Uitiaponsula glows at a sizzling 1450°K (1177°C). It actually formed at a much farther distance from its star, but even as Sorr A expanded, nearing the end of its life, Uitiaponsula migrated inwards. Its strong gravitational pull threw the inner Sorr A system into chaos, ejecting many preexisting bodies or absorbing them. In the present, the inner system is almost completely devoid of objects or debris except for Uitiaponsula. Only two planets in the outer reaches of the Sorr A system survived this process.
Comets and leftover debrisBeing a young system, Sorr still houses an appreciable amount of debris. The majority of this material is either in orbit around Sorr B or circling Sorr A beyond the orbit of Sorr B. The chaos the system had undergone has cast a number of objects out of the system, but some have developed highly eccentric and inclined orbits.
The majority of Sorr A's comets originate in the asteroid belt beyond the orbit of Sorr B, at a distance of 900 to 1500 AU. These require thousands of years to complete a full orbit. However, many of these comets' orbits are not stable. Perturbations from Sorr B and Uitiaponsula affect the bodies' tracks over time. For a star of such mass, and considering the chaos resulting from Uitiaponsula's inner migration, there should be many more rogue comets and objects than what appears in this simulation. I have excluded the majority to prevent the system from cluttering.
Sorr B is essentially a miniature solar system orbiting a larger star, and thus has its own collection of comets. Most of these originate from Sorr B's own asteroid belt, located between 15 and 25 AU.
HabitabilityAs of present, the Sorr system contains five planets with liquid water. All are within the orbit of Sorr B. Due to these planets being illuminated by energy from two stars, the habitable zone display in-game around Sorr B is actually rather misleading. To be habitable, planets must be on the outside edge of the "displayed" habitable zone around Sorr B, or outside the zone altogether. A planet with a sufficiently thick atmosphere in the green area of the "displayed" habitable zone around Sorr B would actually suffer too much greenhouse effect, as it receives energy from two stars.
The history of habitability in this system as been—and will be—rather volatile. Over the 22.2 million year span of the system's existence, Sorr A had ramped up its luminosity as it churned through its fuel. This pushed the habitable zone further out in a relatively short amount of time by astronomical standards. This habitable zone is set to essentially disappear when Sorr A explodes in a supernova, owing to its extreme temperature and radiation.
If Sorr B is not launched away from the system due to the explosion, it is unknown what effects may result from the radiation of the neutron star that would be produced as part of the supernova. The radiation may be too deadly for organisms to survive, at least on the surface.
If Sorr B is launched into deep space from the force of the explosion along with its planets intact, the habitable zone would be brought closer to Sorr B as there would be no second star present to provide further energy. Planets that have liquid water at the present may freeze, and planets too hot for the development of life may be brought down to more suitable temperatures.
As of the current, all habitable planets still hold vast amounts of residual heat from their formation. While liquid water has appeared on their surface, volcanic activity is highly common, and the atmosphere is in the process of change. Unfortunately, there is no method to simulate this as of yet. So, while these planets may appear blue and cozy in the simulation, they are actually still quite hostile. Furthermore, 22.2 million years is certainly not close to being enough for complex life to have developed.
These are the several paths habitability may branch in the Sorr system. But until Sorr A exhausts its fuel and explodes in a supernova, no one can know for sure what the future holds for Sorr.
Gallery
Figure 1: Sorr system, orbits highlighted
Figure 2: Mass chart
Figure 3: Due to illumination from two stars, for a portion of a planet's orbit, night vanishes altogether.
Figure 4: Double sunrise on an alien world.Notes- I have position locked Sorr A at the centre of the coordinates because I dislike stars straying due to a gravitational pull. Therefore, this is not a "true" binary system. But Sorr A is so much more massive than Sorr B, it wouldn't make much of a difference even if it weren't position locked.
- Being a young system, Sorr has a vast amount of particles and debris. Some devices may not be able to handle this, and therefore I have attached two ubox files: one with particles to simulate a realistic young star system, and one without particles to aid players with slower devices.
- Recommend maximum timewarp rate: 0.5days/sec
