First Assignment Before Class: Planetbuidling

The Checklist
Here is the checklist for what you need to do before you come to the first class.

1. Watch or listen to Worldbuilding 101 by N.K. Jemisin those links are in the previous post or on the activity page for the first week of the course.
2. Go to the activity page for this week and watch the video on exoplanets.
3. Pick one of the three exo-planet/moon scenarios on which you want to base the creation of your world. The three are listed and linked on the activity page.
4. Create an Inventory for the planet/moon you will be creating.  Transfer the planet/moon data to this page.  Give your planet/moon a name and add to your inventory the answers to Part One of the questions on the Worldbuilding Questionnaire.
5. Come to Zoom class on Tuesday morning prepared to discuss your version of the planet/moon you are creating and prepared to ask the guest presenter any questions you would like answered about your scenario.  

Course Schedule: Here is a direct link to the Course Schedule which gives the most current information for each week of the semester.  The icons and descriptions for each week will link to the activity page for that week.  Currently only the first week has a link to the activity page.  The Course Schedule is also linked in the Course Links Box of this blog.

Activity Page for this Week:  Here is a link to this week's Activity Page which describes what you need to do before coming to Zoom class for that week.  The assignment is expected to be done before you come to class. This week's Activity Page links to three Planet Scenarios from which to choose the one you will base the creation of your own world this semester.

The Three Planet Scenarios
You must choose one of these scenarios for a habitable planet or moon on which to base the development of your world.  Here are direct links to each scenario.

World 1:  Epsilon Eridani A2 is a rocky planet with a silica/Iron mantle/core, a breathable atmosphere but a gravity effect nearly twice that of earth's.  The planet is subject to frequent tectonic and volcanic activity with water forming into lakes, small seas, and channels that criss-cross the most habitable zones of the planet.   Much of the planet's water is locked up in the form of ice in large polar caps.

World 2:  Lyra Aquilae A1 D (4th moon) orbits a gas giant in a red dwarf binary star system.  The surface of the moon is 90% liquid water.  There is a volcanic chain of islands that forms several mini-continents.  Super strong tides wash regularly through these island chains in complicated patterns of innundation.  Gravity is 90% of earth's gravity effect.


World 3:  Maytar A2 is the most earthlike of the three planet scenarios, very similar to a younger earth with a large supercontinent.  The planet maintains a Mars-like orbit around a sun-like star.  The orbital period is nealy two years but the planet rotation is close to the earth's 24 hour period.  With a similar axial tilt, the seasons are pretty close to earth's in climate variation but last twice as long.
  
The Ringling Worldbuilding Questionnaire
After you have selected your basic planet scenario from the choices above development a more detailed Inventory that describe its salient characteristics by using the questions on the Worldbuilding Questionnaire.  Be prepared to attend Zoom class on Tuesday morning able to discuss and ask questions to help develop your specific Inventory.  The guest presenter, Howard Hochhalter, Manager of the Planetarium at the Bishop Museum of Science will be available to help you develop your description.