A portrait of New Tarakina IV, the planet that is the setting for my new series of SF images. New Tarakina IV is about 16,000 km in diameter. The surface is covered by shallow seas to ca. 60%, but due to the larger size, it's land surface is still much larger than that of earth. It has a tropical climate with average temperatures around 28C. The New Tarakina system is 47 light-years from our solar system. Freighters and normal passenger ships need about three years with current technology to cover this distance (passengers are typically kept in cryo suspension during this time). The fastest courier and military ships can cover the distance in about six months. Due to the lack of faster than light communication technology, this is also the fastest communication method. All in all this means that settlers are pretty much on their own. In the image we can see the planet with its tell tale green tint from atmospheric trace gases and in the foreground is New Tarakina Station. This is where all space ships arrive and unload freight and passengers. Everything is then brought of the surface by shuttle craft of various sizes. One of the larger shuttles (approximately Boeing 747 size) is just on its way to the surface. Set up and rendered in Vue 11 Infinite. Ciao TD