YEAR LENGTH: 160 standard days CLUSTER SIZE: `F' (11,000 miles by 200 miles) NUMBER OF ASTERIODS: 3000 - 4000 DISTANCE FROM PRIMARY: 45 million miles
There are probably more asteriods in this cluster than in all the others combined; additionally, the Beta Cluster has two small firebodies. These two firebodies orbit about a common center, and `drag' the other members of the cluster with them; seen from the right angle and distance this cluster resembles nothing so much as a large donut (the average separation between the asteriods is under a hundred miles). However, these asteriods are all very small, none more than a mile or two across, with most having a diameter of only a few hundred yards. Most are voidworlds, though there are patches of breathable atmosphere here and there that encompass as many as a dozen of these tiny worldlets. The Invaders will occasionally select and tow a particularly mineral rich member of this cluster to one of the others where it is systematically broken down, but otherwise maintain no outposts here. To make matters worse, Beta Cluster is infested with asteriod spiders, buzzjewels, stargazers, and other wildspace pests.
