Here ’s your exclusive first flavour at a unexampled adept - single-valued function of Battlestar Galactica ’s Twelve Colonies , designed by writer Jane Espenson and science advisor Kevin Grazier . And Espenson and Grazier explained to us how twelve colonies can fit in one star organisation .
snap to expand !
Not only is this map a thing of great mantrap , but it ’s whole prescribed — Grazier was science consultant for Battlestar Galactica from the very offset , and helped to define a lot of the show ’s concepts . And Espenson , as the original showrunner for the prequel series Caprica , had to do a lot of thinking about exactly how the Twelve Colonies were laid out . This info comes straight from the creators — and from the showrunner ’s Scripture for BSG and Caprica . And Grazier , who works at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , verifies that the info in this mathematical function is “ scientifically plausible . ” It was created by Hollywood graphic designer Geoffrey Mandel , who made multitudinous adjustments as the technological data underwent scrutiny .
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We inquire Espenson and Grazier some questions about the map , and they finish up evidence us a lot more about the science and backstory of Battlestar Galactica :
I did n’t realize there were four unlike stars in the Cyrannus star system . I had always wondered if there were just 12 habitable planets clustered around a unmarried sun . Where did the idea of four dissimilar star come from ? Was this in the show Word of God someplace ? I ’m especially curious about Leonis , the “ mettle of the colony , ” which I do n’t call back we ever heard about . Also , Scorpio , the “ vacation spot of the colonies . ” Is that the compound reading of Risa ?
Jane : Even back before Caprica the show subsist , I believe Kevin and I had sing a bit about the configuration of the Colony . All the work on that is his . I instinctively sleep together the idea of a star clump . The idea of 12 habitable planet all orbiting one genius just seemed unworkable . And crowded . This group of stars makes so much sensory faculty . Kevin was at work on the constellation of hotshot and planets long before we shot a single frame .
Kevin : Indeed , the instant Ron charter me on BSG , I was so emotional , I went home , read the series bible and the first two script for “ 33 ” and “ Water ” , then go on to chop out a document on the uranology of the Twelve Colonies – how might we get twelve inhabitable planet in one star system ( which is stated in Ron ’s series bible ) .
I suggested that either the Twelve Colonies are spread out across a couple neighbour stars at the edge of a star cluster , OR that they were orbiting a multiple star system of rules like Castor ( six stars in three binary distich ) , or a summer target well - bed to amateurish stargazer , Epsilon Lyrae ( the notable double - three-fold whiz ) . The latter became our touchstone for the star system that supported the planet of the Twelve Colonies .
afterward , when I was working on the chapter about planets for the ledger Science of Battlestar Galactica , I revisited that document – expound upon it for the book . While I was write that chapter I had a conversation with Jane and we agreed that it might serve the dramatic pauperization of Caprica if we set out the Colonies explicitly before they got too mystifying into authorship .
So the 2nd to last , more high-risk , version of that document became part of a chapter for the script ; I ship the final version — with more concrete recommendations — to Jane for her to use to lay out the Twelve Colonies .
Jane : Then I had generator Bob Harris , acquaintance of the show , spell a text file for the consumption of the writers . It ’s since been augmented with illustrations and such , and it ’s been uncommitted asan lovely niggling DK travel guide called “ Beyond Caprica ” .
The map draw from this papers . The information in it is what I ’d call quasi - canyon . We trust on it when write the book , but it was n’t direct as normative . If something large in a playscript contradicted the written document , we did n’t sweat it . But it was unbelievably utilitarian to have as background “ world - building ” material . It helped make the worlds feel real to us .
Bob made an effort to make the world make sense culturally and historically . As to whether parallels live between , say , Scorpion and Risa , I can only say that I can certainly envisage a fleet - dweller having that same thought .
If the four stars are less than 0.16 light years aside , would n’t you see more than one Lord’s Day in the sky on Caprica and other world ? Would the days be longer ? Or would this just be a few extremely bright champion at night ?
Kevin : One of Jane ’s first business was whether or not the wiz were so secretive that ignition in night scenery would be an issue . I said that if the star were all prominent K - type stars ( modest than our own , but turgid enough to confirm major planet with level-headed lifespan ) , and they were part by the distance of the Epsilon Lyrae system , then there would n’t be too much concern . If they were break down to shoot down a nighttime shaft , then the light that were required to light the shot were far brighter than any of the other stars , were they in the sky .
Jane : I do call back asking him if we needed to worry about lighting Caprica as if there were two suns and obtain the in force news that we did n’t . We did keep the days of the hebdomad and the clock the same on Caprica , which may be an error , but one we made on purpose – some changes felt like they ’d seem trouble or distancing and other like they ’d negate what we ’d interpret in the fleet – the stock filaria seen in the instalment ’ 33 ’ for example .
Also , it seems like there ’s a luck of info here about planets like Libran and Canceron that I do n’t think see much about on screen . Were these planets we were going to instruct more about if Caprica had nonplus a second or third season ? Was there a show Good Book that included data on those worlds ?
Jane : We require to check that our screen background , cosmos - building material let in these planets for completeness . Whether we ’d have dealt with them would have calculate on the story and characters as we went forward . But , no , we did n’t have a Libran / Canceron game waiting in the wings .
One of the thing I have it off about Caprica , and would have loved to see more of , was the diversity of the unlike society . And now , looking at this map , it seems like Tauron , Gemenon , Picon and Caprica were all revolve the same star . Were the other eight colony , which were orbiting other stars , even more distanced from Caprica ? I screw we had that on BSG we did meet some Saggitarons who seemed very estranged from Caprican society .
Jane : Bob Harris make out about Kevin ’s lay - out of the planet when he was working on “ Beyond Caprica , ” and certainly took the distance into account when develop the characters of the dissimilar colonies .
Kevin : coincidently , in the document I originally blueprint right smart back when I was first hired , I made some speculations how the layout of the planets might tempt development on each – how astronomy might charm cluture - ironically also mentioning Star Trek ’s Risa as an model . I never included any of that in the document I ultimately sent to Jane because almost all of it was obviated by item that came to light in BSG .
I did like how Jane used the options I had suggested to lay out the Twelve Colonies . In particular , I had intimate that two Colonies could be a binary yoke like the Earth / Moon organization , and I thought that it was brilliant that she put Caprica in mutual orbit with Gemenon . So here we have the Las Vegas planet in mutual cranial orbit with the Salt Lake City planet . recollect there might be … dramatic tension … there ?
Something that hasbecome topical in the past couple week , is the opinion that all the astrological signs are “ off ” by one due to the precedency of Earth ’s spin axis of rotation – so if you ’re ostensibly a Scorpio , the Sun is really in Libra on your natal day . It also “ come to light ” that there is a 13th sign of the Zodiac .
https://gizmodo.com/why-did-your-zodiac-sign-change-we-asked-the-astronome-5733004
None of this is new , anybody who has ever taken canonic uranology , or who has ever perform a planetarium show , sleep with this . In fact , in the original “ Astronomy of the Twelve Colonies ” document I write back in 2005 , I said :
Libra is the only non - carnal in the Zodiac ( which means “ gang of creature ” ) , and is a comparative entrant to the Zodiac – it was create from the claw of Scorpius that were “ clipped off ” to make a novel configuration . The function was to create a one - to - one correspondence between the signs of the Zodiac and months of the year . It turn out that , if we delimitate the Zodiac as the constellations through which the sun croak , then there are 13 signs . After our Dominicus skims the top of Scorpius , and before it enter Sagittarius , it passes through Ophiuchus ( “ The Serpent Bearer ” ) . If you are acquit between November 30th and December 17th , you ’re actually an Ophiuchi . It might be a nice quirky twist to have no colony call named for Libra , but one for Ophiuchus instead - with the constellation Libra being a later Terran cultural influence on the Zodiac .
I did n’t aboveboard think Ron or David would ever use this info , it ’d be deflect as hell to seek to explain it , but like your math professor used to say , I include it “ for completeness sake ” .
I jazz that Caprica was going to show us the twelve colonies growing closer together . Would we have dealt with the challenges of having four unlike starring scheme coming together ?
Jane : in all probability not . This was clear a unchanging system , take on for granted by the people who lived there . It does n’t immediately suggest an emotionally - charge storey to me . At least we did n’t have anything be after along these line .
Jane EspensonNASA
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