Planet

The subject of this article is from the The Cursed update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 06 November, 2024.

A planet is an astronomical body that moves around a star.

Summary[ | ]

Planet-InGame-Space — A planet and its moon (Foundation)

Planet is a stellar object in the universe that moves around their stars. There are 2 to 6 planets and nearby moons in a star system. In this game, the celestial bodies in a star system are divided into moons and planets, but the difference is only in size and whether oceans are generated (moons do not generate oceans). After landing, there is no particular difference.

In v3.0 Origins, one new planet was added to many star systems. Until the v2 era, there were many star systems with only one planet, but they no longer exist. However, the maximum of six planets has not changed, so no cases with six planets from the beginning have been added. These added planets use new terrain generation logic, and may be composed of very high mountains and deep valleys that were not previously seen. The scenery is beautiful, but landing and exploration will be difficult.

The number of planets in a star system can be confirmed in the Discovery. The location of the planets in a star system can be confirmed by the radar in the starship cockpit.

Planetary Areas[ | ]

A planet is roughly composed of three areas: land, caves, and ocean.

To be more specific, land is further composed of ordinary grassland, waterside/sandy beaches, and wastelands such as high places, cliffs, and craters. Other categories within a planet include low altitude/under clouds, high altitude/above clouds, and almost space.

Lands
- There are land flora and fauna. Most of the structures of lifeforms are only found on land. This is the main stage for the player's exploration. The appearance varies greatly depending on the planet.
Caves/Underground
- Not necessarily below the surface. Sometimes they exist as caves. Every planet is a relatively safe space that does not consume the Hazard Protection system.

See: Cave

Oceans, Lakes, and Underwater
Sometimes there is no water at all, and sometimes the water covers almost the entire hemisphere of the planet. v5.0 Worlds Part I supported a highly flexible water surface rendering system, but the current planetary terrain makes it difficult to make use of it.
It would look better if deeper oceans were formed, but such oceans are rare. Also, magnificent rivers that continue to the horizon are very rare. Currently, rivers (thin oceans that look like rivers) are not generated very often. However, the water surface rendering system seems to support rivers and waterfalls, so new planets with completely revamped terrain generation may be added in the future.
As of v5.0, there are no planets with a completely water sphere. Even if it looks like there is only water from space, there should be a group of islands if you go to the other side of the planet. However, v5.0 Worlds Part I made it possible for starships to land on water, so even if a planet without land appears, there is no problem from a system perspective.
Starting with v5.0 Worlds Part I, the rendering of water surfaces has been revamped, and wave elements have been implemented on the water surface. The intensity of the waves on the water surface changes depending on the situation at the time. The waves are calm in shallow waters and calm weather, but the waves become more intense in the open sea and during storms.
The quality of the water surface graphics varies depending on the specs, but the wave effects are compatible with all platforms.
In the patch notes for v5.0 Worlds Part I, giant waves are introduced, but as of v5.03, they are rare or have not been implemented.

Terms[ | ]

There are almost no official names for planets in this game. It can also be said that there is variation in the notation.

A rough introduction to the background and situation:

Until v3.20 Companions, there was no typical text expression for "what types of planets could exist in this game," perhaps to give the game more meaning (only some standard phrases were used in some mission board requests). The distinctions and names at the bottom of this page were merely tentative names for the time being, vague pattern recognition, created from the player's perspective.

However, after the introduction of Companion Pets and joint exploration in updates, the patch notes and in-game texts often clearly refer to planetary environmental classifications. Thus, the patterns that have been established are becoming more established and known, and the ambiguity in the current expressions used by players is decreasing.

However, even as of v4.10, there is still some variability, implication, ambiguity, and diverse ways of understanding. For example, it is not wrong to call a certain situation an underground biome on a fertile planet with a red environment or a cave on a humid extreme planet. There are many other ways to describe it.

General information[ | ]

There are more than 18 quintillion possible seeds for procedurally-generated planets (18,446,744,073,709,551,616 or 16^16 to be exact) of many sizes, colors, and biomes. Each planet orbits between one and three stars (with one star being by far the most common), creating a cycle of day and night.

Some planets are harmless, without worry or danger, but some can be very dangerous to the extent that the planet cannot be explored because of the danger. Initial names of the planets are procedurally generated and can be hard to pronounce, which is not unusual in a sci-fi game. The first player to discover the planet gets one chance to choose to rename it before uploading the information. Planet naming will go through a standard profanity filter.

Planets of inhabited or formerly inhabited systems will have Points of Interest (i.e. Waypoints or artificial structures) for the player to discover. Uncharted systems as well as Dead planets will only have one artificial point of interest, the portal. On either system type or planet special resources and locations can still be found.

When logging a discovery of a planet on this wiki - please use Template:Planet preload.

Planetary Astrodynamics[ | ]

All planets and moons in the same star system in No Man's Sky are always tidally locked to each other in the same way as our Moon is tidally locked to Earth. As the planets orbit the star(s) in their respective system they will always keep the same relative position to one another and they do not spin on their axis. This results in a standard day & night cycle, but the planets will never drift from one another. This was a design decision as stated by Hello Games to reduce the confusion playtesters experienced when navigating between planets that were constantly moving.

The duration of daytime in No Man's Sky universe for both planets and moons is called a Sol and takes on average 15 minutes real-time ("real-time" meaning that the day/night cycle continues running even when the game is paused). This implies that a full day (i.e. daylight time plus nighttime) lasts 2 Sols, i.e. 30 minutes real-time. This is caused by all planets in game having the same orbital period that likewise lasts 2 Sols. Moreover, all planets are stationary around their rotation axis (in other words - they do not have a rotation axis), implying the following astrodynamic properties common to all the planets in game:

Property	Value
Orbital period	2 Sols
Rotation period	Inifinite
Year: Sidereal year Tropical year Anomalistic year Synodic year Draconic year	2 Sols
Day: Sidereal day Stellar day	2 Sols

Note however that when observing the night sky from a planet, distant stars appear to move as if the planet rotates around its axis, which appears to be contradictory to all the planets in game not having a rotation axis.

Moons are likewise stationary around their rotation axis, and moreover moons are also stationary in their orbit around their primary, which means that when standing on a moon's primary - a player will always see its moon as a stationary object in the sky - and vice-versa (i.e. when standing on a moon - its primary will appear to be stationary in the sky, as in fact will all the other planets and moons in this system).

When standing on a planet or moon, Analysis Visor is able to detect geomagnetic planetary coordinates that are shown in the top right corner of the HUD (heads-up display) as a latitude/longitude pair. The planet's geomagnetic North Pole is where latitude = +90.00, while geomagnetic South Pole is where latitude = -90.00.

As all the planets and moons have an infinite rotation period, they would not have geographic poles in the usual sense of the word, however each planet/moon still has exactly 2 antipodal points on its surface that both show the least variability of distance to the system's star compared to any other point on this planet's surface. This results in eternal twilight when standing on or close to these 2 points and Solar Panels producing the standard twilight amount of power of 25 kPs nearly round the clock, and hence these 2 points could be considered to play a similar role to geographic poles of a real-world celestial body that has a rotation axis.

As in real world, these geographic poles do not necessarily coincide with the geomagnetic poles, and in fact could be quite far away from the +/-90.00 latitude coordinate displayed on the Analysis Visor's HUD. As such, locating geographic poles for a planet/moon requires some effort. One way to locate them is to use your starship to fly into space so that the planet of interest is directly between your starship and its star, then waiting until the star starts to emerge from behind the planet, and moves some distance away from it. Now, the line between the planet and the star will show the projection of the planet's geographic equator - so the geographic poles would be the 2 points on that planet's surface that are equidistant from the equator. Another approach is to stand on the planet's surface and observe the sunset, then use your starship to catch up with the sun. After 3-4 catchups your path will eventually converge with the planet's geographic equator, so by taking the geomagnetic coordinates shown on your Analysis Visor's HUD of any 2 points on the equator - it is then possible to calculate the geomagnetic coordinates of the 2 geographic poles.

Planetary Environments and Storms[ | ]

In this game, most planets are constantly hit by environmental damage from high temperatures, low temperatures, toxicity, and radiation. Damage is based on the environmental level, and the harsher the environment, the faster the energy consumption of the environmental shield of the Hazard Protection

Also, a Storm that reduces visibility occurs on a planetary scale. This increases environmental damage. Even a normally calm planet can become a dangerous environment when a storm occurs. The exosuit will warn you before a storm occurs. When a storm occurs, "STORM" will be displayed next to the Hazard Protection gauge.

In Scorched or Volcanic land, flames may appear on the ground in spots. This is not only common, but is likely to occur during storms and extreme environments. If you touch the fire, you will receive a small amount of damage. Even if you don't touch it, if you get too close, the Hazard Protection will decrease faster.

Storm[ | ]

Even on a planet that appears calm at first glance, if a storm comes, the consumption of the Hazard Protection system will increase. Although the Exosuit has a certain degree of resistance to heat, cold, radiation, and poison, if it exceeds its limits, it will consume energy from its hazard defense system to temporarily counter the environment.

During a storm, not only does the load increase, but the functions of the exosuit and Multi-tool are temporarily improved. If you can use it to your advantage, it can actually be advantageous. The effects are as follows:

"Superheated atmosphere" occurs during high-temperature storms. Jetpack usage time is greatly extended.
"Freezing Temperatures" occurs during freezing storms. The cooling capacity of the Mining Beam is improved, and the time before overheating is greatly extended.
"Advanced gas processing" occurs during toxic storms. The exosuit's sprint system is greatly improved, allowing for longer and faster sprints.
"Localised ionic collisions" occurs during radioactive storms. The exosuit's gathering system is greatly improved, allowing for more resources (about 2.55 times more).

During a storm, the probability of natural phenomena occurring at the same time increases. However, natural phenomena that are not related to the weather (such as meteor showers) can occur even without a storm. Also, on some planets, visibility deteriorates significantly during a storm. The ground becomes almost invisible from the air, and even finding a place to land can be difficult.

Because it is a meteorological phenomenon, it does not occur on planets that are dead land and are close to a vacuum.

Extreme Planets[ | ]

When you land on a planet in a Starship and disembark, the data for that planet is displayed for a short time in the bottom left of the screen. A planet where some of the text is displayed in red at that time. A general term referring to the three patterns below: "only the former", "only the latter", and "both". Planets with harsh climates. The remaining charge of the Hazrad Protection decreases very quickly. Also, on these planets, stellar metals are activated. … Activated SM turns into more Chromatic Metal when refined compared to normal SM.

Extreme Storms[ | ]

When a storm occurs, the bottom left display of the HUD becomes "EXTREME STORM". At this time, the remaining power of the Haz-Protection system decreases even more rapidly. At high difficulty levels, you cannot expect to do proper outdoor activities without preparation. Make good use of Exocraft. The Minotaur in particular has an environmental defense that works for all elements. The remaining charge of the Hazard Defense System will not decrease while piloting the Minotaur.

You should also consider the Hazard Protection Module for your exosuit. Even in S-class, it only lasts about 3 minutes, but during the effective time, you can get complete protection regardless of the harshness of the environment. Furthermore, while this gauge is active, the gauge of the Hazard Protectiom System will recover. Storm Crystal can only be harvested during "Extreme Storms".

It may be hard to understand, but "Extreme Storms" are different from the "Extreme" display on the planet. Even if it is not "Extreme", if the climate is one that corresponds to "Extreme" (the climate of the planet is displayed in yellow when checked with the Analysis Visor), it will become "Extreme Storms" when a storm occurs. If the stellar metal is displayed as "Activated XX" when you look at the planet's information, it is an "Extreme" climate planet. The quickest way to determine the climate is to scan the planet in space.

Characteristics[ | ]

Iruthwe K31 Surface — Planet surface (NEXT)

The following information is displayed when landing on a planet, and in the discovery screen. They influence what you can find on a planet, and what its conditions will be.

Biome influences the flora, fauna, resources, and the general environmental hazard.
Weather influences the intensity of the environmental hazard and the presence of Exotic elements.
Sentinel behaviour indicates the disposition of Sentinels on the planet, ranging from passive Low Sentinel Planets to attack-on-sight Aggressive Sentinel Planets.
Flora influences the amount, and density of flora present on the planet. This rarity can be high, middle, low or none.
Fauna influences the amount, and density of fauna present on the planet. This rarity can be high, middle, low or none.

The rarity is one of the following terms for both the flora and the fauna. The sequence is taken from the game file.

Rarity - High[ | ]

Abundant
High
Ample
Frequent
Full
Generous
Bountiful
Copious
Rich

Rarity - Middle[ | ]

Average
Regular
Common
Typical
Ordinary
Occasional
Numerous
Moderate
Fair
Medium

Rarity - Low[ | ]

Low
Scarce
Infrequent
Rare
Limited
Sporadic
Intermittent
Uncommon
Few
Sparse

Rarity - None[ | ]

None
Deficient
Undetected
Lacking
Absent
Nonexistent
Empty
Not Present
Devoid
Barren

Rarity - Weird[ | ]

Unusual
Lost
Displaced
From Elsewhere
Uprooted
Misplaced
Forfeited
Between Worlds

Rarity - Infested[ | ]

Infected
Diseased
Twisted
Screaming
Viral
Invasive

Discovered planets[ | ]

For a list of discovered planets, see the Planets category page. For a list of pre-release planets, see the Pre-release planets category page.

(When creating a new page for a planet, please use the Planet option from the pre-built templates.)

Name generation[ | ]

The names are procedurally generated using one of the following styles and in certain cases the Adornment term is used.

The sequence is taken from the game file.

Style[ | ]

ProcNorm
ProcNorm + Adornment
ProcNorm + Numeral
ProcNorm + ShortCode
ProcLong + ProcShort
ProcShort + LongCode
"New" + ProcNorm

The list is based on the planets documented by their original names on the wiki:

ProcShort: It uses 3-5 letters.
ProcNorm: It uses 4-9 letters.
ProcLong : It uses 6-10 letters.
Numeral: It uses roman numerals, for example V or XVII.
ShortCode: It uses 3 characters and the format is LNN where L is an upper case letter and N is a numeral, for example S10.
LongCode: It uses 5 characters and the format is NN/LN where L is an upper case letter and N is a numeral, for example 72/T3.

Adornment[ | ]

Prime
Major
Minor
Alpha
Beta
Gamma
Delta
Omega
Sigma
Tau

Additional Information[ | ]

The type of star a planet orbits is important for some biomes to appear. The main example are exotic planets in atypical stars.
Some planets have rings surrounding them, which are made up of asteroids and crystals. However mining in a ring is difficult because as soon as one enters a ring it becomes very hard to see due to the fine particles. Sometimes a planet with a ring may also have a moon, this may cause the ring to clip inside said moon.
All planets have an Outer Atmosphere which can be reached by base building or various glitches. The Outer Atmosphere leads directly to the Space around the planet. For more information, refer to the Biome Subtype - Space page.
The rarity terms for flora and fauna are extracted from the NMS_LOC1_ENGLISH.MBIN (1.77) game file, while the name generation is extracted from the NMS_UPDATE3_ENGLISH.MBIN (1.77) game file.
There is a 42 character limit when renaming a planet or a moon.
The distance that you can travel on a medium-sized planet starting from the north pole and ending at the south pole is just above ~400,000 u. walking distance. That means you can walk the entire circumference of a planet in a straight line at a distance of above ~800,000 u. walking distance. This experiment can be done by using three Save Beacons, two of which are applied to each of the planet's poles, and the third one being used as a measuring tool. The corresponding pole-to-pole numbers for other planetary bodies are 528,000 u. (large), 260,000 u. (small), and 63,000 u. (moon).
Planets that have changed due to the "Uncertainty" phenomenon on the Fade or due to version changes (Atlas Rises to Next or later data wipes) will retain their general qualities for weather and hostilities. Their biome and terrain however, might change. Example: Li Shipek 2 turned from a 32 Rad planet record in Atlas Rises into a -128.3°C cold record planet.

Planetary Liquids[ | ]

All planets bearing water appear "oceanic" from space, meaning several parts of their surface show ocean terrain types and a large percentage of their surface will have pockets of water inside. If one digs down in a valley or plain a layer of underground water can be found. All moons however are pangean in nature. The prevalence of water does not prefer any biome type, but excludes dead and seemingly exotic worlds.
It is physically impossible for water to be liquid below -73,15°C; depending on the pressure it is either solid or gas. Some planets have oceans at this temperature. So, we can assume that not all planet liquids are made up of water. It is easiest to do this if you forget that the suit voice always refers to liquids as water.
Beginning in Aquarius, players can invoke the Fishing mechanic to catch fish. The fish caught in the water is dependent on the planetary climate, weather conditions, the time of day, in Sol, and more.

Bugs[ | ]

When observing the night sky on a planet, distant stars appear to move as if the planet rotates around its axis, while all the planets in game in fact do not have a rotation axis. You can see this when approaching a planet.