Poul Anderson, Harvest Of Stars, 40.
Alpha Centauri A and B are in orbit around each other;
Proxima, a red dwarf, discovered telescopically, is on a wider orbit;
(Beta Centauri, elsewhere in Centaurus, is the second brightest star in the constellation);
A had three planets but captured Phaeton from B;
A's outermost planet, Demeter, bears life;
B had two planets but lost Phaeton;
between A and B is the forbidden zone of chaotically orbiting asteroids;
Phaeton passed through the forbidden zone and now orbits A on retrograde comet-like ellipses that will make it collide with Demeter in a thousand years;
human beings will colonize Demeter;
Lunarians led by Rinndalir will colonize the Centaurian asteroids rather than staying in the Solar System where social evolution is not to their liking.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And of course not all the Lunarians will leave the Solar System. A remnant will settle elsewhere in a remote region of the System.
Sean
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