Aurora (planet)

Aurora is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It was the first world settled by the Spacers, originally named 'New Earth'; it was located 3.7 parsecs (12 light years) from Earth.

Origins & development

In Asimov's fictional universe the innermost planet orbiting Tau Ceti was mankind's very first extrasolar planetary settlement, established at some point between the discovery of the hyperspatial jump in 2031 A.D. and the year 2064 A.D. when numerous extrasolar colonies were mentioned by Susan Calvin during an interview given in that year. In later millennia, the planet would be renamed "Aurora," which means "dawn," to signify the dawning of a new age for the Spacer culture. It was also considered the strongest of the Spacer worlds, and was their de facto leader.

Aurora at its height had a population of 200 million humans and 10 billion robots. The head of its planetary government was called the "Chairman." The largest city on the planet was Eos, the administrative and robotic centre of Aurora where Han Fastolfe and Gladia Solaria lived. The University of Eos and the Auroran Robotics Institute were both in Eos. We see the planet at its height in The Robots of Dawn. It was famous among the Spacer worlds for its grape juice.

Later history

In Prelude to Foundation, we learn that at least some of its inhabitants emigrated to Trantor, settling in the Mycogen Sector. The descendants of the Aurorans, or Mycogenians, never forgot Aurora, but they apparently evolved to the point where they were indistinguishable from Settlers.

In Foundation and Earth, the searchers for Earth visit Aurora, along with other ancient settlements. The planet is by then not inhabited by human beings, and its declining ecology is dominated by savage dogs.

Statistics

• Star
  • Spectral Class: G-4
  • Mass: .9 that of Sol
• Planet (Tau Ceti I)
  • Inclination: 16°
  • Period of Rotation: .93 Galactic Standard Days
  • Period of Revolution: .95 Galactic Standard Years
  • Satellites: Tithonus, Tithonus II

References

• Asimov, The Robots of Dawn, ISBN 0-385-18400-X

See also

• Tau Ceti in fiction