HALTERES
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Welcome to Halteres, the Lodestone for all things Badass Sci Fi. She first contacted me in the Summer of 2010, and soon after, delivered my Proxy and muse, Dexter (Patton). Since then, neither strays far from my mind.
The ‘fictional’ tome, Halteres written of in Opposable is no such thing. Halteres, the planet and manuscript, are real. They serve as comprehensive references for every extraterrestrial element of The Halteres Chronicles.
The novel documents events leading up to Opposable. I intend to publish it after Spire as Book Zero of The Halteres Chronicles.
This page contains Halteres’ planetary data. For more information about Opposable and Spire, follow the links below, and don’t forget to sign up for updates.
Halteres
(H-Prime)
Halteres, a conjoined binary terrestrial system, consists of a larger lobe, Halteres Major (H-Major), a smaller lobe, Halteres Minor (H-Minor), and a shaft of igneous rock connecting the two, the Pillar of Cael (Cael).
As a result of their bond, an uninhabitable volcanic wasteland called the Foculus covers the medial 25% of both attached lobes surrounding Cael.
Location
Halteres is the second planet from Hestia, a K-type dwarf star. Hestia’s solar system contains six planets, from nearest to farthest; Vélkáf, Halteres, Clach Nearth, Kovoldia, Sfyri, and Akontio.
The solar system lies in one of spiral arms of the Glyptis galaxy, approximately three-quarters of the way out from the center of the galaxy. Glyptis, a spiral starburst galaxy, resides near the edge of the Fovero galaxy cluster. The Fovero galaxy cluster is near the center of the Sympan supercluster.
These deep space objects are over 2 billion light years from Earth with approximate Earth celestial coordinates right ascension 19h 46m 25.66s and declination +33° 43′ 40.02″.
Orbit and Rotation
Halteres orbits Hestia in 208.45 Earth days. During this time, it rotates about its axis about 100.06 times.
However, H-Minor displays perpendicular rotation, rotating three times for each planar rotation of the system, much like a millstone.
Furthermore, stabilized by the presence of H-Minor, the planet’s axis of rotation aligns with its orbital plane.
According to unverified evidence, the planet formed almost 5 billion years ago. It possesses no natural satellites.
H-Minor is thought to have been formed from a collision. Unlike the Earth’s moon, however, it didn’t separate. Similar to the moon, H-Minor causes perpetual tides around the polar circumference of H-Major.
Physical Charactaristics
Exterior
The lithosphere on H-Major divides into several rigid tectonic plates. Unlike the tectonic plates that once comprised Pangea, H-Major’s’ plates, over the last few million years, migrated toward the equator.
Additionally, though tectonic plates usually disperse and coalesce in cycles, it is safe to assume H-major’s land masses will remain concentrated at the equator. Two factors spport this hypothesis.
Firstly, H-Prime’s center of gravity gives the planet an oblong rotation. Consequently, the centrifugal force remains concentrated on H-Major’s distal equator.
Secondly, the Foculus prevents tectonic plates from migrating.
Water covers about 62% of H-Major’s habitable surface. The remaining 38% consists of continents and islands. Ice covers the majority of H-Major’s polar regions. Additionally, certain sections of the polar ice caps, the Pagos Nefos rotate over the Foculus, become infused with steam, and float inland.
100% of H-Minor’s surface is land.
Compared to Earth’s 5.51 g/cm3, H-Major’s density is 3.89 g/cm3, while H- Minor’s is 17.34 g/cm3.
Interior
H-Major’s interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics and makes the Foculus unstable.
H-Minor, on the other hand, has no protective magnetic field. There are, however, several volcanically active regions on the surface, most notably, the Foculus.
As a result of the evidence, it is believed H-Minor possesses an entirely solid core, but a still active mantle. Additionally, unverified evidence indicates the presence of a large, artificially excavated portion in a dormant region of the mantle near Cael; Vathoul.
Certainly, a combination of H-Minor’s perpendicular spin and lack of a magnetic field render its surface is largely uninhabitable. There is, however, one domed population center, Olys, and certain beings have adapted to the harsh environment.
Habitability
Life arose on H-Major nearly 4.5 billion years ago. Unverified evidence points to directed macroscopic panspermia as a major catalyst to the origin of life on Halteres. Since then, the combination of the planet’s distance from Hestia, H-Major’s physical properties, and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive.
As a result, life evolved similar to Earth’s. However, three known sapient subspecies inhabit Halteres; the Haltierre, Ratnik, and Mendax, who now inhabit H-Minor. Unverified evidence exists of a sentient arachnid species, the Noctvyl. Additionally, the Astir Espera region of H-Major harbors the only in situ population of the omniscent organic circuitry Arca Trochia.
Biome Distribution
