kopernicus [1.3.1] Real Exoplanets v0.2.0 [12/12/18]

[Andi K.]

This mod has been superseded. You can access it by clicking here.

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REAL EXOPLANETS

All rights reserved

 

WHAT IS THIS?

Real Exoplanets is an expansion for Real Solar System that adds several new confirmed exoplanets into KSP. As the name implies, all of these exoplanets are real, and all of the planetary systems are located exactly where they are in real life. All of the planets have accurate characteristics and the visual appearance and texturing of all exoplanets are based off of our current understanding of planetary science. The only area where realism is being sacrificed is in the distances to the planetary systems. Due to the limitations of KSP and other factors, all planetary systems are located 1/10th of their real life distance. This will make the exoplanets more accessible, while still maintaining the incredible size of the universe.

 

SCREENSHOTS

                                                                                                        

                                                MORE                                               

ADDITIONAL MODS

DEPENDENCIES Real Solar System Kopernicus Module Manager ModularFlightIntegrator RECOMMENDED MODS Realism Overhaul KSP Interstellar Extended BetterTimeWarp

COMPATIBLE MODS Distant Object Enhancement RSSVE (required for REX Visuals)

 

                                                                                                        

DOWNLOAD ON SPACEDOCK

                                                                                                        

 

CREDITS

Spoiler

• Squad for KSP of course
• @Thomas P. for Kopernicus
• @NathanKell for Real Solar System
• @JadeOfMaar for his beautiful sun flares that all stars in Real Exoplanets uses
• @Pkmniako for getting DOE to work for far away stars and planets
• @ProtoJeb21 for continuing to help me recreate real life exoplanets that have accurate characteristics

 

CHANGE LOG

Spoiler

• 0.2.0 (December 12, 2018)
  • Added Tau Ceti system
  • Overhauled Proxima Centauri b
  • Removed HD 10180 system
  • Changed scale to 1:1
• 0.1.1 (June 24, 2018)
  • Minor config changes
  • Removed RSSVE from download
• 0.1.0 (June 22, 2018)
  • Initial Release

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by adsii1970
Added link to new forum thread created for this mod.

[NickRoss120]

inb4 everyone else.

[Hypercosmic]

Awesome!

By the way, do you have a list of all the new celestial bodies in this mod?

Edited June 24, 2018 by Hypercosmic

[Andi K.]

Just now, Hypercosmic said:

Awesome!

By the way, do you have a list of all the new celestial bodies in this mod?

So far it is just the Proxima Centauri and HD 10180 systems. There are more to come in the future! Once I start adding more systems, I'll create a running list of all them.

[Andi K.]

@ProtoJeb21 You're the expert on exoplanets right? I was curious what your take on Tau Ceti e and f is. From what I've read, they both planets seem to be in a hazy spot between super-Earth and mini-Neptune.

[ProtoJeb21]

9 hours ago, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

@ProtoJeb21 You're the expert on exoplanets right? I was curious what your take on Tau Ceti e and f is. From what I've read, they both planets seem to be in a hazy spot between super-Earth and mini-Neptune.

Yeah...it’s pretty hazy on whether or not these planets are rocky. On one hand, since only their minimum masses are known, they have an uncomfortably high chance of being over the 6 Earth mass transition between terrestrial and volatile-rich Super-Earths. They likely are over 6 Earth masses if their orbits are on the same plane as the system’s asteroid belt. However, they have a better chance of being rocky because Tau Ceti has lower metallicity than the Sun. This may seem counterintuitive, but in lower metallicity planet-forming disks, it’s harder for hydrogen to stick to formin protoplanets. The process is pretty hard to explain but just trust me on it. A good example of this at work is LHS 1140 b. Its star has a low metal content of around -0.25 [Fe/H], and while the planet is over six and a half times the mass of Earth, it’s made of three-quarters iron by mass. Due to its location in the system, it is expected to have formed from this low metallicity disk process. So, with Tau Ceti’s even lower metallicity, it looks like it will be quite hard for even a 6+ Earth mass planet to acquire a hydrogen envelope. But then comes location. Based on the architecture of the system, it seems like it could be the end result of planetary migration, or not. If so, then Tau Ceti e and f would have formed further out and could’ve acquired some volatile layer before the hydrogen in the planet-forming disk dispersed. If they migrated very little, I would expect them to be rocky, maybe between 20% to 45% iron by mass. The inner two, Tau Ceti g and h, might be even more iron rich due to forming in a region with more metals. 

I hope I didn’t confuse you or anyone else reading this to death. 

[ProtoJeb21]

@AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures Update on Tau Ceti: The minimum mass values determined by Feng et al have very high uncertainties due to stellar noise, and might actually be smaller than initially expected because of said stellar noise, which could be corrupting the signals and making them seem larger than they really are. The only way to know for sure is more precise RV analyses, and considering how long it took for this one to come out, I wouldn't expect anything new until the early or mid 2020's. The best we can do is interpret what we have right now.

Since the error ranges for the Tau Ceti planet candidates are not equal, I was able to average out different minimum masses: 1.60 M_⊕ for Tau Ceti g, 2.25 M_⊕ for Tau Ceti h, 4.12 M_⊕ for Tau Ceti e, and 3.61 M_⊕ for Tau Ceti f. For Earth-like compositions these would correspond with mean radii of approximately 1.15 R_⊕, 1.26 R_⊕, 1.51 R_⊕, and 1.48 R_⊕, However, as I mentioned before, they could have large fractions of iron due to the complex process of metal-poor disk planet formation. Compositions and extra physical parameters for the mean minimum masses are provided below if you want to use them. Assessments on their temperatures and potential habitability are also provided.

• Tau Ceti g: 50% silicates/50% iron, 1.05 R_⊕, 7.62 g/cm³, 1.451g, 593 K (608 F; 320 C), 26 flux. Could retain a moderate atmosphere (0.1-0.5 atm of pressure).
• Tau Ceti h: 60% silicates/40% iron, 1.20 R_⊕, 7.18 g/cm³, 1.563g, 439 K (331 F; 167 C), 7.79 flux. 1 to 1.5 atm of pressure can exist.
• Tau Ceti e: 70% silicates/30% iron, 1.43 R_⊕, 7.77 g/cm³, 2.015g, 295 K (71 F; 22 C), 1.59 flux. Could be habitable if smaller, but its high mass and gravity would likely trap a thick, hostile, Venus-like atmosphere, turning it into a hellish runaway greenhouse planet. Its average surface temperature could be raised to 1000 - 1200 K.
• Tau Ceti f: 80% silicates/19.5% iron/0.5% water, 1.52 R_⊕, 5.67 g/cm³, 1.56g, 187 K (-123 F; -86 C), 0.26 flux. Due to its distance from Tau Ceti, I believe it could have a thin layer of water, which could be partially melted if the planet has a thick enough atmosphere, something I find likely.

Those parameters above were calculated assuming, by some miracle, all the planets were just about edge-on to our line of sight. However, if the orbits of the planets are in-line with the system's debris disk, their actual masses will be 1.74 times greater. This would increase their mean masses to approximately 2.78 M_⊕, 3.92 M_⊕, 7.17 M_⊕, and 6.28 M_⊕. The inner two planets would still likely be rocky, while the outer two would probably have some kind of water envelope comprising 5-15% of their total mass, either in a steamy Venusian atmosphere, a global ocean, or an ice shell, or some mixture of the three.

• Tau Ceti g: 60% silicates/40% iron, 1.28 R_⊕, 7.31 g/cm³, 1.70g.
• Tau Ceti h: 65% silicates/35% iron, 1.41 R_⊕, 7.71 g/cm³, 1.972g.
• Tau Ceti e: 85% silicates+iron/15% water, 1.92 R_⊕, 5.59 g/cm³, 1.945g.
• Tau Ceti f: 85% silicates/10% iron/5% water, 1.79 R_⊕, 6.04 g/cm³, 1.96g.

The water content of Tau Ceti f is most definitely a partially-melted ice shell. However, Tau Ceti e is confusing because, due to its stellar flux, it could have a cloudy reflective atmosphere of water vapor that would prevent it from becoming a Super-Venus. A similar scenario is also predicted for K2-155d. My best guess is that, for these physical parameters, Tau Ceti e will be a steamy oceanic planet. In addition, both outer planets are likely to have at least one moon caused by giant impacts due to all the debris in the system.

[Hypercosmic]

@ProtoJeb21 Once I read an article stating that Tau Ceti's Mg:Si ratio is ~70% higher than Sol's, and magnesium-rich rocks make less viscous magma. What do you think?

[ProtoJeb21]

4 hours ago, Hypercosmic said:

@ProtoJeb21 Once I read an article stating that Tau Ceti's Mg:Si ratio is ~70% higher than Sol's, and magnesium-rich rocks make less viscous magma. What do you think?

That is very intriguing. @AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures I think this may serve as some good inspiration for what you decide to make the Tau Ceti planets look like. 

[Andi K.]

@ProtoJeb21 @Hypercosmic Does this therefore mean that many of the planets would not have a significant magnetosphere and, especially for the planets closer to Tau Ceti, not be able to retain an atmosphere?

[ProtoJeb21]

It turns out that silicon is denser than magnesium, which means Mg-based planets may be less dense than their silicon-based counterparts. This means we can get away with lower densities for the Tau Ceti planets, and they would still be rocky. I’d expect a good amount of magnesium oxide on Tau Ceti f if there are processes where oxygen atoms can be freed from water molecules. 

Just now, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

@ProtoJeb21 @Hypercosmic Does this therefore mean that many of the planets would not have a significant magnetosphere and, especially for the planets closer to Tau Ceti, not be able to retain an atmosphere?

Mg-based planets may be able to have better internal convection that powers magnetic fields, if I’m reading the article right. Magnesium oxide can also help create a magnetic field due to it being, well, magnetic. Iron would still be present in their cores. 

[Andi K.]

On 6/24/2018 at 4:35 PM, ProtoJeb21 said:

Mg-based planets may be able to have better internal convection that powers magnetic fields, if I’m reading the article right. Magnesium oxide can also help create a magnetic field due to it being, well, magnetic. Iron would still be present in their cores. 

I actually read what hypercosmic said incorrectly. I read "less viscous magma" as "more viscous magma." So yeah obviously magma that is less viscous would result in more convection which means more magnetism. Cool!

Edited June 26, 2018 by AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures

[ProtoJeb21]

15 minutes ago, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

I actually read what hypercosmic said incorrectly. I though I read "less viscous magma" as "more viscous magma." So yeah obviously magma that is less viscous would result in more convection which means more magnetism. Cool!

More convection from less viscous magma would also result in increased plate tectonics and create more mountain ranges, ravines, etc. The terrestrial Tau Ceti planets could also have a higher albedo than silicate planets because some magnesium-base compounds are quite light in color, like magnesium oxide.

[Andi K.]

1 hour ago, ProtoJeb21 said:

More convection from less viscous magma would also result in increased plate tectonics and create more mountain ranges, ravines, etc. The terrestrial Tau Ceti planets could also have a higher albedo than silicate planets because some magnesium-base compounds are quite light in color, like magnesium oxide.

What do you think the density of each of the planets would be after considering that they would contain higher amounts of magnesium-rich rocks?

@The-Doctor You wanted an updated Constellations, well here it is 

Edited June 24, 2018 by AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures

[ProtoJeb21]

6 minutes ago, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

What do you think the density of each of the planets would be after considering that they would contain higher amounts of magnesium-rich rocks?

@The-Doctor You wanted an updated Constellations, well here it is 

I think we should just keep the densities I calculated earlier. They could work for magnesium-based planets with slightly smaller iron cores than for silicon planets with the same density. 

[Andi K.]

2 minutes ago, ProtoJeb21 said:

I think we should just keep the densities I calculated earlier. They could work for magnesium-based planets with slightly smaller iron cores than for silicon planets with the same density. 

True

[The Minmus Derp]

Maybe 55 Cancri and Gliese 667 systems?

[Andi K.]

4 minutes ago, The Minmus Derp said:

Maybe 55 Cancri and Gliese 667 systems?

I first need to add the planets that were in the original Constellations. Once that is done, then I'll start taking suggestions for new systems. 55 Cancri is definitely an option though.

[The Minmus Derp]

Just now, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

I first need to add the planets that were in the original Constellations. Once that is done, then I'll start taking suggestions for new systems. 55 Cancri is definitely an option though.

Yay! Was Gliese 667C in the original?

[The-Doctor]

Oh wow, so like, this is awesome. It says 1.3.1 though, but says updated in 2018, is this correct? Is this for 1.3.1 or is it the mod version? 

[Andi K.]

3 hours ago, The Minmus Derp said:

Yay! Was Gliese 667C in the original?

No it wasn't. Given the amount of stars in that system, I'd have to use sigma binary to get the star system to work properly. Unfortunately, I believe I've had problems with sigma binary and this mod.

2 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

Oh wow, so like, this is awesome. It says 1.3.1 though, but says updated in 2018, is this correct? Is this for 1.3.1 or is it the mod version? 

The mod is for version 1.3.1 of KSP. 0.1.1 is the mod version.

                                                                                                        

Hey guys, Tau Ceti e is turning out really well. If you look closely at the second screenshot, you'll be able to see Proxima Centauri and Alpha Centauri next to each other, and the Sun some distance above the two.

Edited June 25, 2018 by AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures

[Hypercosmic]

Gliese 667 system has three known stars, and only one of them (C) has known planets. In fact, only two were confirmed. There would be quite a lot of empty space there.

Still, if Gliese 667Cc is added, it seems that tidal heating would increase the planet's geological activities by a lot, giving the planet a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere constantly stripped by the star's stellar wind and flares. If its orbital eccentricity is high, it might also have 3:2 spin:orbit resonance. Might be an interesting world to look into.

Personally I would like to see TRAPPIST-1. I have a few (pessimistic) ideas of my own about how those planets might be like.

[Andi K.]

@Hypercosmic Honestly, TRAPPIST-1 was over-hyped. The only thing I'm really excited about is that it's a prime target for the JWST when it finally launches in the year 3,000...

 

[Hypercosmic]

1 minute ago, AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures said:

@Hypercosmic Honestly, TRAPPIST-1 was over-hyped. The only thing I'm really excited about is that it's a prime target for the JWST when it finally launches in the year 3,000...

 

Can't see it having a planet teeming with life at the same level as Earth either, but I'm more interested in how compact it is and each planet's properties. We know a lot about them.

I think that in this system apart from b, c, all planets but e are probably lifeless ocean/icy rocky planets, while e itself might be volcanic bigger Mars.

[Andi K.]

1 minute ago, Hypercosmic said:

Can't see it having a planet teeming with life at the same level as Earth either, but I'm more interested in how compact it is and each planet's properties. We know a lot about them.

I think that in this system apart from b, c, all planets but e are probably lifeless ocean/icy rocky planets, while e itself might be volcanic bigger Mars.

What I mean is that given the TRAPPIST-1's small size compared to it's planets, and the system's close proximity to Earth, it makes it an ideal system to analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets.

Not that we're going to find life on any of them.