Giganto
The giant's garden. A low-gravity world of oversized life.
A hot, humid, oxygen-rich world around Delta Pavonis, where low gravity lets plants and animals grow to enormous sizes. The far frontier.
- Star
- Delta Pavonis
- Gravity
- 0.6 g
- Population
- A handful of explorers
- Breathable
- Yes
Statistics
| Where it is | |
|---|---|
| Star | Delta Pavonis |
| Designation | Delta Pavonis b |
| Star type | G8IV Sun-like star, ~6–7 billion years old and slowly brightening |
| Distance from Sol | 19.9 ly, deep in the southern sky (Pavo) |
| Orbit | 1.05 AU, on the warm side of the habitable zone |
| Year | ~396 days |
| Day | — |
| Real-world status | Invented; a small world like this would be undetectable today |
| Size | |
| Type | Low-gravity tropical world |
| Radius | ~0.85 Earth radii (~5,400 km) |
| Mass | ~0.44 Earth masses |
| Density | ~3.9 g/cm³ (little iron; a lot of rock and water) |
| Surface gravity (g) | 0.6 |
| Environment | |
| Atmosphere | ~0.9 bar with ~27% oxygen, richer than Earth's 21% |
| Breathable | Yes |
| Temperature | Tropical, hot and humid across most of the planet |
| Surface | Towering forests; escape velocity ~8 km/s makes landings and launches cheaper than on Earth |
| History | |
| First explored | ~2071 (first landing) |
| Colonised | Not colonised |
| People | |
| Population (2076) | A handful of explorers |
| Role | The far frontier; a prospect for future colonisation |
Why "Giganto"
Low gravity and oxygen-rich air let life grow very large. Plants tower, arthropod-like creatures reach sizes impossible on Earth (compare Earth's giant insects during its own oxygen-rich era, over 300 million years ago), and large animals are lightly built and fast. None of them is intelligent.
A warming world
Its star is slowly brightening as it ages, a preview of our own Sun's future. The world is gradually warming, and native life is under pressure. That's a possible long-term story thread.
Hazards
- Micro-organisms. Native microbes can infect humans or be toxic to touch or breathe in. Unprotected skin contact and unfiltered air are dangerous. Explorers wear sealed suits or filters at minimum.
- Animals. Large, fast, and unfamiliar. Predators are hard to read.
- Wildfires. The oxygen-rich air makes fires start easily and spread fast.
Settlement
Only a few expeditions have landed since the first in ~2071, because of the biological hazards and the distance from Sol. Giganto is of great interest for future colonisation.