2300AD/2320 What If: *Teegarden's Dwarf found in 2240?

[rfmcdpei]

Back when the very faint red dwarf Teegarden's Star was found in 2003, astronomers first believed that it lay only 7.5 light years from Earth/Sol (X 5.31, Y 4.82, Z 2.18.) As Shaun Hilburn pointed out at 2300noncanon, if this dwarf did exist in the 2300AD canon it would have not only directly connected the Latin Finger to the Core, it would have opened up the entire 61 Cygni Cluster to human settlement.

That first estimate of the star's location was wrong--more recent studies suggest that it lies between 12.5 to 12.6 light years from us--but what if a body like it did in a 23xx universe? A red dwarf is probably too visible. Let's say that, instead, Teegarden's Dwarf is an ancient and/or low-mass brown dwarf, the sort of celestial body that would be quite useful for a stutterwarp-using human civilization but difficult to detect until a fortunate astronomer is lucky enough to witness a micro-lensing event in 2240.

What next? At this point, the Manchurians' Kwantung colony and Dukou outpost are twenty years old, and Mexico and Argentina are just starting up their Kwantung and Montaña colonies now. With assets already on the ground, are the Manchurians and INAP able to take advantage of their location and boom? Kwantung and Montaña are almost ridiculously Earth-like comapred to Nibelungen or Beowulf. Or would other powers--Brazil, say--try to sneak in? And who gets to go to the 61 Cygni Cluster.

Thoughts?

 

[wyrmwood]

Back when the very faint red dwarf Teegarden's Star was found in 2003, astronomers first believed that it lay only 7.5 light years from Earth/Sol (X 5.31, Y 4.82, Z 2.18.) As Shaun Hilburn pointed out at 2300noncanon, if this dwarf did exist in the 2300AD canon it would have not only directly connected the Latin Finger to the Core, it would have opened up the entire 61 Cygni Cluster to human settlement.

That first estimate of the star's location was wrong--more recent studies suggest that it lies between 12.5 to 12.6 light years from us--but what if a body like it did in a 23xx universe? A red dwarf is probably too visible. Let's say that, instead, Teegarden's Dwarf is an ancient and/or low-mass brown dwarf, the sort of celestial body that would be quite useful for a stutterwarp-using human civilization but difficult to detect until a fortunate astronomer is lucky enough to witness a micro-lensing event in 2240.

What next? At this point, the Manchurians' Kwantung colony and Dukou outpost are twenty years old, and Mexico and Argentina are just starting up their Kwantung and Montaña colonies now. With assets already on the ground, are the Manchurians and INAP able to take advantage of their location and boom? Kwantung and Montaña are almost ridiculously Earth-like comapred to Nibelungen or Beowulf. Or would other powers--Brazil, say--try to sneak in? And who gets to go to the 61 Cygni Cluster.

Thoughts?

according to HIPPARCOS there are actually over 3,480 stars within an 11 parsec radius of Sol
EDIT: this is old, try 4419 as of the last compiled HIPPARCOS db by HYG

Clearly, objects large enough to discharge within 7.7 light years, but not bright enough to have been noticed pre-HIPPARCOS (1989 is when it was launched), would have a dramatic impact on the 2300 history and milieau.

Also, once any new star system was visited, it would make sense that new satellite telescopes would be launched around those systems; again opening new possibilities for additional near objects.

As referree, you're going to need to decide whether or not to take this into account and alter your universe, make discharging dependent on bright stars, or ignore them altogether

 

[oletheros]

Let's say that, instead, Teegarden's Dwarf is an ancient and/or low-mass brown dwarf, the sort of celestial body that would be quite useful for a stutterwarp-using human civilization but difficult to detect until a fortunate astronomer is lucky enough to witness a micro-lensing event in 2240.

This would even work well for 2340, because that would open up a region of space that has been developing for a century and is in need of direct access to the Core's markets. There has probably been tugship traffic to that point, but a brown dwarf discharge point could potentially turn Chengdu and/or Kwangtung into Core worlds.