Lives Lost, Lessons Learned

[Fiona Hartman]

Date: 2nd July 787A.S.
Location: Planet Cambridge, Cambridge System, Bretonia
Entry Number: #114

This year has been good to me, with the publication of 'Bretonia's Golden Age - Dr F.Hartman' I've had a steady flow of credits, and a few job offers here and there, and I've been able to start taking classes on the areas of science that really interest me, particularly biology and astronomy.

I find Goldilocks planets to be on of most interesting topics we've studied, and my next thesis is probably going to involve them, in depth.
There have been studies on a far off planet known as 'Columbus 323-g', a planet orbiting a Red Dwarf, a few light years from Bretonia. Interestingly enough, the planet could well support human life with little need for terraforming, and I've found it interesting to study the characteristics of such a planet.

Planet Cambridge for example, has an active iron-nickel core, active meaning the core is still hot enough to swirl around, generates a large magnetic field that deflects a huge amount of solar radiation, thus protecting the atmosphere and inhabitants from perishing.

Planet Cambridge's atmosphere, protected by the magnetic field, gives us air to breathe, circulates water around our ecological supersystem, and shelters us from nasty rocks and debris that fall out of the sky. It would be interesting to know what Columbus 323-g could possibly hold for us.

In order for life to flourish, a planet must be situated close enough to a star to experience warm temperatures like our own, possess liquid water, and hold on to its oxygenated atmosphere. But the planet needs to have at least one more key ingredient that most planets at the right distance from their sun have, a moon about the size of Cambridge's own Ross Planetoid. To be more precise, the planet needs a tidal rhythm that tugs on it the way Ross tugs on Cambridge, or in some similar rhythmic way.

So it's a wonder if Columbus 323-g will ever be visited, or inhabited, to become part of Bretonia. If the system has no valuable resources, then it will probably fall on deaf ears and be forgotten about. A real shame if you ask me.