Locations



Locations in the Star Citizen universe are numerous and diverse, from lush planets full of pristine wilderness to those with every square inch covered by high tech supercity; from small seedy truck stop-esque space stations to a cobbled pirate mega-station; from a bioluminescent moon orbiting a rogue gas giant to the smashed corpse of a planet turned into an electrically charged asteroid formation, home to an industrial mining operation. In total, there are 95 known star systems, consisting of 324 planets, 74 moons, 50 space stations and 76 asteroid formations plus some even stranger sights.

Systems


A system (short for planetary system) consists of one or more non-stellar objects that orbit one or more Gravitational governors (such as Stars). There are 4 main factions that claim ownership over these systems: the United Empire of Earth, the Vanduul, the Xi'an Empire, and the Banu Protectorate. There are also two other categories of system affiliation - developing, which is a system protected by the UEE's Fair Chance Act due to the presence of developing lifeforms or planets capable of spawning such creatures; and unclaimed, which is a system that no major faction has claimed, for one reason or another. Many systems are connected to one another by jump point s of varying sizes, allowing for interstellar travel between systems.

Astronomical Objects


An astronomical object is a naturally occurring entity - found freely floating in space, either as a single object, or clustered into groups with other objects. More generally, astronomical objects are the things that make up systems, including stars, planets, moons, asteroid formations, planetoids, nebulae and jump points.

Stars


A star is a massive bright ball of plasma undergoing nuclear fusion, many of which are orbited by planets, asteroids and other types of astronomical object. Systems are frequently named after their star. The majority of stars are single, but occasionally there are binary stars, where two stars orbit one other. Stars have various classifications, based on their brightness and color, which is indicative of their composition and life stage.

Planets


A planet is an object that orbits one or more stars, is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, and has cleared most of its orbit of other astronomical objects. There are 324 known planets of various classifications, depending on the atmosphere, size, and geological composition. These classifications include terrestrial rocky, super earth, ocean planet, gas giant, ice giant, smog planet, mesoplanet, protoplanet, dwarf planet, and desert planet, among others.

Moons


A moon, also known as a natural satellite - is an astronomical object that orbits a planet. There are 74 known moons. While they do not have classifications in the same way that planets do, there are many different types of moon, from dry, desert moons like Daymar, to frigid, frozen examples like Calliope, to those with dense smog-like atmospheres such as Aberdeen.

Asteroid formations


An asteroid is a rocky object smaller than a planet found to be orbiting a star (or other gravitational governor), often in massive groupings with other asteroids - know as asteroid formations. These objects are the remnants of the formation of the larger bodies in the system, or sometimes are the result of collisions between a planet and moon or between two planets. There are 76 charted asteroid formations, usually found as system rings, with the occasional asteroid cluster and single planetoid asteroid.

Planetoid
A planetoid is another name for an asteroid. The title of planetoid is usually reserved for larger asteroids, which are notable in some way, either ones that are home to a colony, or otherwise unique looking or frequently visited and landed on for some purpose. The two most notable planetoids are Delamar, which is home to a colony of radical independents, as well as the Space Whale: a unique looking planetoid frequently visited by tourists.

Space stations


A space station is an artificial satellite, i.e., a man made construction that is orbiting a star, planet or moon, usually with some amenities for passing ships to make use of, or otherwise with a specific function such as security or scientific research. There are 50 space stations in the Star Citizen universe, ranging from small truck-stop-like rest stops to super stations such as Spider - and everything in between.