Fading Halo:Planet Types

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This page lists the main planet types found in the galaxy. Over 99% of planetary bodies fall into one of the following categories. Where possible examples are listed, both real and fictional.

Brown Dwarf

Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth. Brown dwarfs occupy the mass range between that of large gas giant planets and the lowest-mass stars; this upper limit is between 75[1] and 80 Jupiter masses. Example: 2M1207, MOA-2007-BLG-192L

Desert

A desert planet is a single-biome planet on which the climate is mostly desert, with little or no natural precipitation. The term refers specifically to desert planets that remain hospitable for life. Those unable to support life are generally referred to as either post-garden or rock planets, depending on circusmtances. Example: Tatooine, Arrakis

Garden

A planet with multiple biomes considered ideal for supporting life, a garden planet need not actually support sentient life though the majority do. A relatively rare resource in the galaxy, control of garden planets is the kind of thing races go to war over. Example: Earth, Naboo, Thessia

Ice Giant

A type of gas giant composed largely of materials less volatile than hydrogen and helium. Unlike a 'traditional' gas giant (such as Jupiter or Saturn) an ice giant often only has an outer layer of hydrogen helium with the majority of the planet consisting of more inert materials such as water, methane and ammonia molten ices. Example: Uranus, Neptune

Giant Jovian

A giant Jovian is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter but generally of volatile materials such as hydrogen and helium. Planets above 10 Earth masses are termed giant planets. Example: Jupiter, Saturn

Ocean/Ice

An ocean planet (also termed a waterworld) is a type of planet whose surface is completely covered with an ocean of water. The oceans on such planets would be hundreds of kilometers deep, much deeper than the oceans of Earth. The immense pressures in the lower regions of these oceans could lead to the formation of a mantle of exotic forms of ice. This ice would not necessarily be as cold as conventional ice. If the planet is close enough to its sun that the water's temperature reaches the boiling point, the water will becomesupercritical and lack a well-defined surface. Even on cooler water-dominated planets, the atmosphere can be much thicker than that of Earth, and composed largely of water vapor, producing a very strong greenhouse effect. Example: Kamino, Mon Calamari, Nidor

Pegasid

Hot Jupiters (also called roaster planets, epistellar jovians, pegasids or pegasean planets) are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter. While Jupiter orbits its parent star (the Sun) at 5.2 astronomical units(780×106 km), the planets referred to as hot Jupiters orbit between approximately 0.015 and 0.5 astronomical unit (2.2×106 and 75×106 km) of their parent stars. They exhibit high-speed winds distributing the heat from the day side to the night side, thus the temperature difference between the two sides is relatively low. Example: Bellerophon

Post-Garden

A planet showing evidence of previous civilization but no longer having atmospheric and environmental considered ideal for supporting life. Note that many post-garden worlds are still capable of supporting life but simply do not classify as garden worlds any more. The conditions on many such worlds are the effects of mass extinction level events. Example: Tuchanka

Rock

A terrestrial planet, telluric planet or rock planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Terrestrial planets have solid planetary surface making them substantially different from gas giants, which are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states. Unlike garden worlds, rock planets do not generally have conditions that can support life. Example: Mars, Venus, Mercury