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Revision as of 00:31, 26 May 2020
The Minshara class planet Earth
Vulcan, another M-class planet
Ceti Alpha V used to be "barely" class M
A class-M moon of Mab-Bu VI
In the Federation standard system of planetary classification, a class M, or Minshara class planet, moon, or planetoid was considered to be suitable for humanoid life. By the mid-24th century, thousands of class M planets had been charted by the Federation. These worlds were the first choice for colonization. Since the early 22nd century, Humanity (and later, the Federation) has been terraforming lifeless worlds such as Mars into class M worlds. Environmental conditions on Federation starships mimicked the class M environment. (TOS: "The Cage"; TNG: "Justice", "Home Soil", "Final Mission"; VOY: "Caretaker")
History
During the mid-22nd century, Vulcan science used the term Minshara-class for such planets. Vulcans were not able to confirm if a planet was Minshara-class through orbital scans, instead sending down probes to collect the necessary data. (ENT: "Strange New World") In 2151, Starfleet officers were not familiar with the term and Enterprise chose to adopt it. However, by 2154, Starfleet had adopted the term class M. A century later, that term was in general use in Starfleet, even though the term "Earth-type" was also occasionally used.
By the 23rd century, it was theorized that there was a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets in the Milky Way Galaxy alone. (TOS: "Balance of Terror")
A planet could fall within the range of the M-class classification. This range was from 1 to 4. The Koinonian homeworld was an example of an M-class type 4 planet. (TNG: "The Bonding", "Clues")
The term was sometimes used to characterize an atmosphere rather than a planet. The standard environment aboard Federation starships was class M. (TNG: "New Ground", "Relics")
Qualities
- Atmosphere: The atmosphere contained large percentages of nitrogen and oxygen, and smaller percentages of trace elements. Most planets had nucleogenic particles in the atmosphere. (Atmospheres that lacked nucleogenic particles were incapable of producing rain.) The atmosphere on these worlds was approximately Earth normal. (TAS: "The Eye of the Beholder"; TNG: "Clues"; VOY: "Caretaker")
- Surface: The surface of these planets was abundant in water. Under the surface, there were additional sources of water. These worlds were geologically active. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Once Upon a Time", "Dragon's Teeth") Minshara-class planets were sometimes associated with significant quantities of the colors blue and green visible (indicating water and plant life respectively). (ENT: "Twilight")
- Planetary core: The planetary core of these planets was nickel-iron. (TNG: "Clues"; VOY: "Once Upon a Time")
- Life: These worlds had ecosystems and contained amino acids and protein readings. High percentages of both indicated healthy plant life. Many of these worlds supported carbon-based plant and animal life. (any non-carbon-based would have to be non-indigenous) A smaller number of these worlds had proto-humanoid, humanoid, and Proto-Vulcan humanoid lifeforms. (TNG: "Angel One", "The Chase"; VOY: "Parturition"; ENT: "Bound", "Observer Effect")
- Other: Class M worlds emitted electromagnetic radiation. (TNG: "In Theory") These worlds were rich in minerals. (VOY: "Investigations") The gravity on these worlds was generally Earth normal, but could be slightly less or slightly more. (TOS: "The Cage"; TAS: "The Eye of the Beholder") Temperatures might potentially be hot, but there was an upper limit. They were rare in binary star systems. (TAS: "Mudd's Passion") These planets were typically located in the habitable zones of their systems, (TNG-R: "The Battle", "Chain of Command, Part II") though terrestrial rogue planets could quantify as class M when sufficient heat from their interiors was vented outward by geological activities. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "The Search, Part II", "The Die is Cast") Some class M worlds had a bemonite mantle. (VOY: "Once Upon a Time")
List of class M worlds
Current
Planetary bodies that were, at last appearance, class M.
Former
Planetary bodies that were considered class M before a major change in climate or composition.
| Image | Name | Location | Indigenous sentient species | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arret | Arretan | Atmosphere destroyed during a civil war 500,000 years ago | |
|
Boraal II | Boraalans | Extinguished by an atmospheric dissipation in 2370 | |
|
|
Ceti Alpha V | Ceti Alpha star system, Sector 25712 | Barely class M to begin with; further devastated by an orbital shift after the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI in late-2267 or early-2268 | |
|
First Founders' homeworld | Omarion Nebula, Gamma Quadrant | A rogue planet; destroyed by orbital bombardment during the Battle of the Omarion Nebula in 2371 | |
|
Sarpeidon | Beta Niobe | Sarpeidon natives | Destroyed when its sun went supernova in 2269 |
|
Vulcan | 40 Eridani A, Vulcan system, Sector 001, Alpha Quadrant | Vulcans | Consumed by an artificial black hole in an alternate 2258 |
| Planetary classification |
|---|
| B • D • G • H • J • K • L • M • N • R • T • Y • Other classes |
Appendices
Background information
- The term "class M" was first used in "The Cage" to describe the planet Talos IV. The variant "M class" was also often used. The term has become Star Trek shorthand for Earth-like, and due to obvious production practicalities, this environment is the "default" for planetary surface scenes. It should be noted, however, that not all "Earth-like" planets are necessarily class M: class L worlds such as Kelis' homeworld (VOY: "Muse") and even the occasional class D (such as the one seen in VOY: "Gravity") can support life as well.
- The Vulcan term "Minshara-class" (first used in ENT: "Strange New World") was used in Enterprise to denote planets that in other series would have been called class M by the writers, the implied consequence being that the two terms meant the same, and possibly even that M stood for Minshara. This assumption is supported by the reference book Star Trek: Star Charts. From an in-universe standpoint, the term M-class was first seen chronologically in a text within the Handbook of Exobiology in ENT: "Strange New World", the same episode that introduced Minshara-class. However, this mention was barely legible on-screen and may have been included by an art department not yet aware of the intention to use "Minshara class". The first spoken use of the word was in "Home", in which Archer used it to describe Archer IV, a planet implied (but not explicitly confirmed) to be Minshara class in "Strange New World". The term continued to be used several more times in the final season, while "Minshara-class" made no more appearances. The last use of "Minshara class" was in season three's "Twilight", where it was still used in 2156 in an alternate timeline. The term also appeared on Enterprise's computer displays, indicating that Starfleet adapted it eventually.
- In TOS: "Return to Tomorrow", Spock called planet Arret class M despite the atmosphere having been ripped away, suggesting that the class M designation goes beyond being able to support life. Alternately, he could have been saying that the planet, prior to losing its atmosphere, would have been categorized as class M.
- Ceti Alpha V was described as "barely Minshara class" in "Twilight", but also as no more inhospitable and savage then the site of Australia's Botany Bay colony before colonization in "Space Seed", suggesting that even on a class M planet like Earth, there might be locations that stretch the definition. Alternatively, the planet might have become more hospitable in the century between the two episodes.
- According to Star Trek: Star Charts, class M planets have ages that range from 3 billion to 10 billion years and a diameter between 10,000 and 15,000 kilometers. They are located within the ecosphere of a star system.
List of Planets
Class M planets from the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
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Apocrypha
The novel Strangers from the Sky indicates that the term "class M" was used by Humans prior to First Contact with Vulcans, or indeed before Humanity reached any extra-solar planets.
See also
External link
- Class M at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works