Strange Planet

Basic Information

It's not a strange planet because it's kind of kooky. It's a planet that has been infected by, and converted into strange matter. It wasn't always this way. Once, it was a normal planet, before a strangelet bumped into it. Then the change happened. The planet shrunk to a fraction of its previous size, but retained the same mass. Everything on it died. Every atom on it became strange matter. It's now one large, densely packed, probably indestructable hadron of degenerate matter. Anyone who lands here is doomed.

Sources

Bibliography

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

• For a full discussion of the dangers, see strange matter (and strange star).
• If strange matter is likely to be mined, exploited, or weaponized, such a planet is a likely source. While it's still deadly to anyone who touches it, and will destroy any ship that lands upon it, at least you don't have to worry about the heat and gravity of a strange star.
  • Its even possible someone intentionally turned this into a strange planet, either via a doomsday weapon, or as an intentional step towards mining and exploiting the strange matter.
  • It may be a world where the precursors attempted to research strange matter, and the experiment got away from them.
• A strange planet in a stable orbit of a well-explored solar system is of minimal risk, as long everyone knows to stay away.
  • Unless the conversion process from normal to strange matter is a slow one. If the conversion is instantaneous, you know that contagion will be restricted to one planet, and gravity and mass will make it unlikely for any of the strange matter to escape. If conversion is lengthy, then every micrometeorite is a potential infection vector, and space debris or cast-off rubble from an meteor impact on planets clear across the system could fling infectious strangelet microparticles your way at any moment. Best to evacuate the entire system immediately. Only the bravest of salvage operations will return to risk their lives gathering abandoned technology and resources amongst the planetary ghost town left behind.
  • In an unexplored system the danger may sneak up on you. The best warning signs are the high mass and gravity for such a small planet. If you land on the surface, it's already too late. Death in inevitable unless you immediately evacuate in a shuttle or tender that hasn't touched the ground.
  • Even worse still is a strange-matter rogue planet on a collision course or near-collision trajectory with civilized space. Imagine if an object like Oumuamua converted and destroyed every system it passed through.

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