Observatory

Velas Nebula
On it's 225 Million Year journey around the centre of the milky way, The Sol System eventually drifted into a rich star forming nebula called Velas, named after the hotly burning stars orbiting a black hole of the same name. The super nova that sculpted the nebula has long since faded from memory, though its death created a massive cavitation in the already existent clouds of gas in the region.

Velas is home to 11,000 stars, many of which are newborn, many just hundreds of millions of years old.

The stars in Velas were extensively explored by the Forerunners during The Long Dark, and subsequently seeded with Xeriscaping Platforms to make the myriad worlds habitable in the Forerunner Era. The suns within Velas are also called the "Known Stars," as they are almost universally tagged with Stellar Anchors. Those outside Velas are assumed to be "Wild" and untouched by humanity or the Forerunners.

Several massive clouds of hydrogen, sulfur, and helium divide Velas into canyons and mountain ranges, with a floor and roof created by the hot stream of protons and radiation streaming from Velas'kor, the white giant orbiting Velas'seer. A "ring" of debris circles Velas'kor from supernova remnants that long ago pushed the main cavity of the nebula into being, signalling the end of star formation in the region some hundred million years ago. The Nebula regions are home to several clusters of stars, each home to a Core World and many Fringe Worlds.

The Seven Suns
Starting with Sol, a serendipitous line of stars are all passing within 1-3 light years of one another, making for an easy access corridor known as the "Seven Suns." Nearly 40% of all New Terrans live on a world orbiting these stars, the rest being scattered across Velas.

Forerunner Worlds
The Core Worlds are part of a network of stars originally seeded with life millions of years ago by the Forerunners, intended to be far enough apart to prevent conflict or stellar events from ever wiping out a large potion of the resurrected human species. Each star contains up to a dozen habitable planets and moons hosting thousands or even billions of people.

Frontier Worlds
Often barren and inhospitable, Frontier Worlds are often still in the mid to late stages of Xeriscape development. They are generally very dry, with a moderately difficult to extreme climate. Often sparely populated, these planets and moons orbit stars all across Velas, usually only inhabited by the very brave or very desperate.