I'm doing a bit of roleplay about being an asteroid miner in a solar system other than this one. So I did some research on extrasolar planets, and extrasolar asteroid belts, and the best fit I could find was Epsilon Eridani. It's (likely) got at least one extrasolar planet, two asteroid belts, and a debris disc. So a prime candidate for someone exploiting the environment for material.
Furthermore, there's the potential for a planet to be habitable and, most importantly, the name sounds lovely and science fiction-y.
That's probably why a bit of research has revealed that pretty much every science fiction property uses it (including ones that I'm very familiar with, but obviously didn't pay close enough attention to the settings of). That blunts its appeal somewhat.
So my question is this - to the people on this board who know a lot more about astronomy than I do and who will either know this kind of thing off the top of their heads or be able to point me towards better resources than the ones I've found so far - if you wanted to roleplay an asteroid miner in a different solar system, then which one would you choose? The name is probably the most important factor. Something that when people hear it, they go "ooh, that sounds all cool and futuristic", but also preferably something that isn't prominent in science fiction already. Wolf 359, for example, is very prominent in Star Trek. I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to pay homage to anything.
Things like whether or not it's actually habitable, or if it's even vaguely close to our solar system don't matter so much. There's always domes, space-stations, anti-gravity boots, FTL travel, etc. Although there being a planet of some kind to use as a base would be a plus, even if it's one that couldn't possibly actually be used as a base, like a gas giant. In fact, a lack of habitability might be a bit of an advantage, as I'm trying to evoke a hard, lonely existence, fending off pirates/raiders, etc. albeit in a sort of bubblegum way.
This is kind of a last-ditch effort on my part. I'm almost certainly going to end up sticking with Epsilon Eridani b, because the reason it's so widely used is that it ticks so many boxes. But there's no harm in asking people with knowledge of the subject whether they happen to know off the top of their heads of a good alternative, or resources I can use that aren't quite so easy to turn up just by using google.
Furthermore, there's the potential for a planet to be habitable and, most importantly, the name sounds lovely and science fiction-y.
That's probably why a bit of research has revealed that pretty much every science fiction property uses it (including ones that I'm very familiar with, but obviously didn't pay close enough attention to the settings of). That blunts its appeal somewhat.
So my question is this - to the people on this board who know a lot more about astronomy than I do and who will either know this kind of thing off the top of their heads or be able to point me towards better resources than the ones I've found so far - if you wanted to roleplay an asteroid miner in a different solar system, then which one would you choose? The name is probably the most important factor. Something that when people hear it, they go "ooh, that sounds all cool and futuristic", but also preferably something that isn't prominent in science fiction already. Wolf 359, for example, is very prominent in Star Trek. I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to pay homage to anything.
Things like whether or not it's actually habitable, or if it's even vaguely close to our solar system don't matter so much. There's always domes, space-stations, anti-gravity boots, FTL travel, etc. Although there being a planet of some kind to use as a base would be a plus, even if it's one that couldn't possibly actually be used as a base, like a gas giant. In fact, a lack of habitability might be a bit of an advantage, as I'm trying to evoke a hard, lonely existence, fending off pirates/raiders, etc. albeit in a sort of bubblegum way.
This is kind of a last-ditch effort on my part. I'm almost certainly going to end up sticking with Epsilon Eridani b, because the reason it's so widely used is that it ticks so many boxes. But there's no harm in asking people with knowledge of the subject whether they happen to know off the top of their heads of a good alternative, or resources I can use that aren't quite so easy to turn up just by using google.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3ary43Y
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