Gata

Gata (ga-ta) is the oldest constellation of J'karian culture, its origins dating back to some 12,000 years ago. Being one of the most well-known Constellations, it is easy to spot and pick out its 8 brilliant stars, visible in the southern hemisphere, best visible during midnight and at dawn and dusk. It represents the J'karian struggle of surviving against the Gata, a fearless hunter and a feared predator of the J'kari during their ancient times.

### Brightest Star

Shoix / α Gatae

*(NOTE TO READERS!!! RS CODES FOR ALL OBJECTS IN THIS ARTICLE WILL BE ADDED SOON)*

## History

Some 12,000 years ago, during the so-called stone age or less technologically advanced era of the J'karian race, the species were nowhere near as powerful or dominant as they were today. Everyday life for a J'karian was a struggle, with J'karians living in tribes or small communities, caves, huddled together and sharing interests with each other. They were strong, but one predator could always find a way to outsmart them, The Gata. This angry, fearless, red panda like creature reminded the J'karians of the dangers that lurked in the night of forests, dawn, and even broad daylight. These hunters could take on 7-8 J'karians at a time, and usually drive most of them away or kill them all. They weren't easy to kill, and J'karians would usually end up taking casualties when trying to fight one or get rid of a Gata from around their communities, and in doing so, they became a feared creature that they always looked out for when hunting. These ancient J'karians told tales of how they would have encounters with the creatures and survive, and some even said they had killed one, and the ones who could prove it were the leaders of J'karian tribes, looked up on as a deity. These stories would influence young generations of J'karians, and they would talk about how they saw the creature in the sky, the small points of light would look similar to one of these creatures, hence creating the first known Constellation which was named appropriately, Gata. These stories would persist for thousands of years, which is why the Gata, although not wanting to bother modern day J'karians with their levels of technology, are still some of the most feared creatures on Alara.

## Stars of Gata

### Shoix

(Sho-ykes) Is the brightest star in Gata, is the leg of the great Gata. It means "Great thunder foot" In Arakou, symbolizing the sounds of the Gata's rummaging through the forests, searching for food. It is the alpha star in the constellation and is labelled as such due to how J'karians label stars, going from brightest to dimmest. Shoix itself is an O type blue giant star, with an estimated mass of around 22 times more than Kronos-Cathal, and situated at roughly 590 light years from Alara, shining with the brightness of 5042 suns, visible with a magnitude of 1m 83. Deep looks into Shoix have not found any evidence of the star hosting a planetary system, due to the luminosity of its star, and the temperature at which it burns along with Shoix's relatively short lifespan.

### Alasar

(Al-AH-Sar) Meaning, "The Head of the Beast" In Arakou, is the second brightest star in Gata, the beta star. But because the stars in Gata are labeled by brightness, Alasar marks the head of the great Gata. Alasar is blue giant star, or an O type star, it has roughly 14 times the mass of Kronos-Cathal and sits at a comfortable 296 light-years away from Alara. Despite the star's dips and explosions in brightness, the star has 6 known planets that are orbiting Alasar. Not much is known about these planets, but they are theorized to be hot-molten worlds due to the heat given off by Alasar. The star shines with the luminosity of 1052 suns and has an apparent magnitude of 2m 03.

### γ Gatae

(Gamma Gah-Tay) Gamma Gatae is the third brightest star of Gatae, sitting in the left leg of the animal. This star is a blue subgiant, a B-type star sitting around 85 light years from Alara. It has a mass of 3.7 times that of Kronos-Cathal, and shines with the brightness of 76 suns and has an apparent magnitude of 2m 19. 7 planets have been discovered around γ Gatae, although researchers concluded that their atmospheres have probably been stripped away due to the magnitude of the star, and its intense stellar activity.

### δ Gatae A and B

(Delta Gah-Tay) Delta Gatae is a binary star pair and the fourth brightest star in Gata, situated right under Shoix in the foot of the Gata. at 44 light-years from Alara, they are the closest stars in Gatae to Alara. Delta Gatae A is an A type star with 2 times the mass of Kronos-Cathal, and shines with the luminosity of 17 suns, making it much brighter than its stellar partner, Delta Gatae B. This star is a B type star, with only 1.2 times the mass of Kronos-Cathal. It has a luminosity of only 2.9 times that of the sun, and is far outshined by Delta Gatae A. These stars orbit each other every 8,900 years, making them an S-type binary pair. In addition, this system has a total of 16 planets that have been discovered, 9 orbit δ Gatae A, and the other 7 orbit δ Gatae B. In all, this system stands out in the Gata constellation, and has an apparent magnitude of 2m 20.

### ε Gatae A and B

(Epsilon Gah-Tay) Epsilon Gatae, or ε Gatae, is a binary star pair in the Gata constellation, located 407 light years from Alara. This binary duo has 11 known planets, 4 orbiting Epsilon Gatae A, and the other 7 orbit Epsilon Gatae B. In terms, these two stars orbit each other every 5,600 years. ε Gatae A is an A-type blue giant star that has a mass of 15 Kronos-Cathal masses, and a luminosity of 1265 times that of the sun, outshining ε Gatae B, meanwhile is a B-type star which has a mass of 4.6 Kronos-Cathal Masses, and a luminosity of 110 times the sun. These stars are an S-type binary system, with their planets orbiting each star as a separate system. these two stars combined have an apparent magnitude of 2m 43.

### ζ Gatae A and B

(Zeta Gah-Tay) Zeta Gatae is the sixth brightest star in Gata, and another binary star pair. situated 45 light years from Alara, the two stars orbit each other once every 540 years, making them an S type binary pair. ζ Gatae A is an A-type white main sequence star that has a mass of 1.9 Kronos-Cathal masses, and also shines with the energy of 15 suns, meanwhile its partner is a small and cool K-type orange dwarf star, with a mass of only 0.6 Kronos-Cathal Masses, and shines with the luminosity of 0.1 suns. To date, 18 planets have been discovered around these stars, 5 orbiting ζ Gatae A, and 9 orbiting ζ Gatae B, along with an additional 4 orbiting both the stars, taking thousands of years to complete one orbit. One planet in particular stands out in this system, being ζ Gatae Bf, which is a roughly Alaran sized terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of its star, although more research is needed to find out the true temperature of the planet. Overall, these two systems make for an interesting pair, and has an apparent magnitude of 2m 55.

### η Gatae A and B

(Eta Gah-Tay) Eta Gatae is the seventh brightest star in Gata, and one of four binary systems in the constellation as well. These two stars are the farthest away from Alara, sitting at approximately 1263 light years. η Gatae A is an O-type blue giant with a mass of 31 times Kronos-Cathal, and shines with the energy of 9097 suns. This star also has one planet that orbits it but is most likely scorched due to the conditions of its parent star. η Gatae B is also a blue, O-type star with a mass of 14 Kronos-Cathal masses, and shines with the energy of roughly 890 suns, it is easily out shined by η Gatae A. η Gatae B also has one planet of its own but is also scorched due to it being such a bright and hot star. The system is an S type system, both stars orbit each other every 481 years, and the system itself is orbited by one planet, bringing the total planet count to 3. The system also has an apparent magnitude of 2m 84.

### θ Gatae

(Theta Gah-Tay) is a white-main sequence A type star, that is the dimmest star in Gata. Sitting at 102 light years away from Alara, this jewel of the sky can be seen in magnitudes of 3m 34 or higher and is notable due to dim appearance. The star itself has a mass of 2.6 Kronos-Cathal masses, and shines with the luminosity of 37 suns. The star also has 7 planets orbiting it, like most of the other stars in Gata, most of them have planets which orbit them. θ Gatae A has been observed to dim and increase in brightness every so often, which suggests that it has solar flares many times more powerful than Alara's suns.

## Deep Sky observing in Gata

Within this magnificent constellation lie some very well-known deep sky objects studied by J'karian astronomers and astrophysicists alike, orbital deep space telescopes are aimed towards these wonders as they are researched more to better understand what they are, below is a list of some of the most well-known objects.

### Gata Galaxy

   The Gata Galaxy is a large, spiral galaxy that sits over 800 million light years away from Alara, yet it is so bright and large that it can be seen with nothing more than a good pair of binoculars, and a small telescope. J'karians with their advanced and evolved eyesight, can see this galaxy with the naked eye, although it only appears as a smudge, no different to a regular star. This galaxy has an estimated diameter of 326,000 light years and is one of the most notable galaxies in the Alaran night sky, after the Diamond Galaxy.

### LTC 2

LTC 2 Is another wonderous galaxy in the constellation, this galaxy sits at around 26 million light years from Alara, and has an estimated diameter of only 98,000 light years. This galaxy is a relatively young galaxy, estimated to be only around 2 or 3 billion years old. this galaxy is a prime candidate for study on how galaxies form, and lots of research is conducted, telescopes are pointed towards this region of sky.

### κ Gatae

On a clear night, with none to minimal light pollution, a small smudge can be seen just to the right of the star Eta Gatae. This small smudge is Kappa Gatae, (κ Gatae) a globular cluster situated at around 21,000 light-years from Alara. This cluster is estimated to be pretty old, at around 9 billion years. It has a diameter of 158 light years, and has an estimated number of stars at 17,000, most being red giant stars or old supergiant stars. This wonderful sight has a magnitude of 7m 05, so it can only be seen on very clear nights, in areas with little light pollution from Alara's rings, cities, or moons.

### LTC 3 and LTC 4

LTC 3 and LTC 4 are two Galaxies that despite looking like neighbors in the picture on the left, are actually billions of light years apart. on the top left is LTC 3, a medium sized spiral galaxy that is 91 million light years from Alara, meanwhile on the bottom right is LTC 4. Like LTC 3, it is a spiral galaxy, but this galaxy sits at a distance of 5 billion light years from Alara, making it one of the farthest observable galaxies with a small telescope in the Alaran night sky. These galaxies cannot be seen with the naked eye due to their vast distances, but with nothing more than a decent telescope, you can get pictures like these, truly two stunning objects in the constellation of Gata.