Henkitorvesta

Henkitorvesta is a fictional celestial body used in speculative fiction and reference compendia. In the imagined universe, it is described as a dwarf planet located in the outer regions of its star system, offering a setting for exploration and research narratives.

In the fictional canon, the object was first proposed by astronomers in a late-21st‑century study and named by the discoverers to honor a given name, Henk, and the Roman goddess Vesta. The naming convention reflects a blend of contemporary and mythological influences commonly used in science fiction worldbuilding.

Physically, Henkitorvesta is portrayed as roughly five to six hundred kilometers in diameter with an irregular, oblate shape. The surface is described as heavily cratered, with ice-rich terrains and patches of complex organic material detected by simulated spectroscopy. Some depictions suggest partial differentiation in the interior and occasional cryovolcanic activity, though such features vary between authors and installments.

Orbitally, the body is positioned in a distant, cold region of its star system, at tens of astronomical units from its host star. It experiences extreme surface temperatures and a sparse atmosphere or transient exosphere, depending on the source. The environment is typically characterized as harsh, with low insolation and potential internal heat driving episodic geological activity in fiction.

In fiction and reference uses, Henkitorvesta serves as a backdrop for missions, resource discussions, and planetary science debates. It illustrates common themes of outer-system exploration, such as data gathering, resource sustainability, and the challenges of studying distant, ice-rich bodies.