Taranis I

The first planet in the Taranis system is a typical sunkissed inner dwarf, too hot for Human settlement, totally lacking in atmosphere and largely devoid of minerals or other interesting resources. The planetoid was the source of an unusual incident in the mid 25th century: a review of the initial survey data (radar scanning, interferometry and long range imaging) produced an image with what looked distinctly like a Human face superimposed on the planet’s north polar region. The so called “Face of Taranis” was a brief cultural craze on Earth and ultimately inspired a privately funded expedition to the world to confirm that the picture was simply a mountain range photographed from an unusual position. Conspiracy theorists continue to insist that the government is covering up evidence of an alien civilization living there (despite the ready proof that sentient species exist throughout the galaxy today).