HIP 98813 (Star System)

HIP 98813 is a star system first mentioned by reference in The Lion of God, and by name in The Lion and The Lizard. It is the star around which the planet Sanddoom (later known as al-Saḥra') revolves. It is 91 light-years distant from Sol in the direction of Sagittarius.

The star is a G1V, similar to but somewhat larger and hotter than Sol.

HIP 98813 has six planets in total. The first planet is rocky and hot like Mercury. Sanddoom (al-Saḥra') is the second, in the "Goldilocks" life zone. The third and fourth planets are rocky and airless, and two gas giants follow them in the fifth and sixth positions.

HIP 98813 does not have an "official" name, but in The Lion in Paradise, Ariela Rivers Wolff poetically describes it by two names: المنفى (al-Manfaa, the star of Exile), and البيت (al-Bayt, the star of Home). Perhaps one of those will be chosen by al-Saḥra''s residents, eventually.