Akopsi

Akopsi as seen from the Upsilon-93 reconnaissance probe, circa 2253 AD

### Atmosphere

CO2 (96.2%), O2 (3.6%), N2 (0.162%), SO2 (375 ppm), H2O (8.35 ppm), Ar (1.9 ppm)

## Additional Information

### Life

Organic multicellular (marine, terrestrial)

## Description (in-game)

**Akopsi**, designated **RS 8474-914-8-12842421-259 A5** in SpaceEngine 0.980, is a temperate terra orbiting a hot, massive white dwarf in a binary system with an M6.1V red dwarf. It is slightly smaller and colder than Earth and hosts complex organic lifeforms. The planet has an ocean-dominated surface dotted with volcanoes with a supercontinent similar to Pangaea, ice caps near both poles, and a few more small continents or large islands. Vast water oceans and dark gray rocks create a distinct blue hue over the surface, which is magnified by the white dwarf's bright blue glow. The atmosphere is characterized by broad bands of clouds stretching from west to east, common among slow-rotating planets as they are incapable of producing a strong Coriolis force that are essential for cyclonic structures like hurricanes on Earth. Occasionally, however, a freak storm may occur, most often in the heated daylight side.

## Lore (fictional)

### Human discovery and exploration

The host system to Akopsi was first discovered in 2010 by the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) as a dim binary 3,608.46 lightyears away, consisting of a dominant white dwarf and a much less massive red dwarf. In November 2025 the Tycho Exoplanet Surveillance Observatory (TXSO) identified it as a transiting planetary system candidate and assigned the designation *TXSO-TR-822*. Analysis of the data proved to be challenging due to the extremely low luminosity of the system, but the research team led by Danish astronomer Frank Søndergaard eventually managed to discover at least 6 planets orbiting the white dwarf including Akopsi, which was initially thought to be the fourth planet from the star since the actual fourth planet was overlooked until 2028 due to its small size. The rest of the system was uncovered by 2030, revealing an astonishing 25 planets surrounding the two stars. Akopsi immediately attracted the researchers' attention due to its Earth-like size and temperature, indicating a high ESI (0.913), though it was put near the bottom of the List of Human Colonization Candidates in 2048 because of its distant location.

The planet lay forgotten by humans among the millions of others discovered for a few decades until 2067, when a 2-minute long complex shortwave radio signal was emitted from the system. The signal's structure highly resembled that of a written language, leading to the conclusion that an extraterrestrial civilization most likely existed on Tycho-718 Ae. Contacting them, however, proved to be nigh impossible, since it would take over 7,000 years to receive a reply of a single radio message. Finally, in 2193 AD, the first superluminal warp device was invented, making interstellar exploration and communication far more accessible, which made it possible for the Upsilon Mission―releasing 300 unmanned probes to explore distant living worlds―to launch in 2200. One of them, Upsilon-93, was tasked with surveilance of the Tycho-718 system and, if successful, land a rover on the surface of planet Ae and search for actual evidence of life. It took the probe half a century to reach the remote system using its primitive warp drives, but it luckily did manage to survive the journey and ultimately confirmed the existence of the civilization.

### Alternate designations

* 2MASS J18290440-6632221 Ae
* TXSO-TR-822 A.04
* Tycho-718 Ae