Altair IV
Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALT : Altair IV
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| Region | Milkyway |
|---|---|
| System | Alpha Aquilae |
| Number of suns | 1 |
| Number of moons | 2 |
| Population | 2 |
| Points of Interest | Dr. Morbius's Home, The underground Krell Laboratory, The gigantic power plant |
| |
The planet was once home to the great non-human Krell civilization before they annihilated themselves. It was visited in 2381 by the United Planets Cruiser C-57D, captained by Cmdr J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen), with Exec Officer Lt J.P. Farman (Jack Kelly) & ship's physician Dr C.X. Ostrow (Warren Stevens). The ship was dispatched to Altair IV, located in the star-system Alpha Aquilae, to search for survivors of the Bellerophon Expedition, lost some twenty years before.
The Novel
- The film is based on the novel by W.J. Stuart, and approaches the story as chapter narrations, from the viewpoints of each of the main characters: Cmdr Adams, Dr Morbius, & ship's medical officer Dr Ostrow.
- Early in the story, the C-57D Cruiser, launched on it's 10 year voyage (one year to the crew on-board) in 2371, reaches over 600 million MPH (.893c) in the flight to the Altair star system.
- Before the C-57D's landing, preliminary findings held that the gravity is .897 of Earth's & that the oxygen level is 4.7 richer. On the ground, ship's engineer Chief Alonzo Quinn notes that broken pieces from nearby blue-gray stalagmite rocks were lighter than pumice, but harder than granite. The planet's soft, heady atmosphere, lit by turquoise sunlight, is described as being so full of oxygen, a breeze would be felt, even when there wasn't one. Also, parts of the desert ground around Morbius' home are covered by a gold-hued grass, with green-gray mountains & deep blue water rivers in the distance. Nearby trees & plants appeared somewhat Earth-like, except for color, shape & foliage. At night, the planet's two moons reflect turquoise light onto the distant mountains, giving them a copper color.
The Real Star
- The bluish-colored Altair, in the constellation Aquila, is 16.7 light years distant (98 trillion miles). Described as a very fast-spinning, unusually bright, main-sequence, ellipsoid dwarf star, it is 1.7 times the mass of our own sun, Sol, & putting out more ultraviolet waves. If there were a planet circling Altair that sustained liquid water, it would orbit about 300 million miles (3.4 AUs) from the star, with an orbital year equal to 4.4 of Earth's. [link]
External links
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