2: The Planet of Gor

This section will highlight the actual planet of Gor. It's geography, animals, plants, and other things specifically having to do with the planet.

"Gor," he said, "is the name of this world. In all the languages of this planet, the word means Home Stone." He paused, noting my lack of comprehension. "Home Stone," he repeated. "Simply that."
Tarnsman of Gor, page 26

As he spoke, my father often referred to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body. Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to the sun but to another body....
Tarnsman of Gor, page 28

There was another possibility I mentioned to my father--perhaps the planet had been in our system all the time, but had been undiscovered, unlikely though that might be, given the thousands of years of study of the skies by men, from the shambling creatures of the Neander Valley to the brilliant intellects of Mount Wilson and Palomar. To my surprise, this absurd hypothesis was welcomed by my father.
"That," he said with animation, "is the Theory of the Sun Shield." He added, "That is why I like to think of the planet as the Counter-Earth, not only because of its resemblance to our native world, but because, as a matter of fact, it is placed as a counterpoise to the Earth. It has the same plane of orbit and maintains its orbit in such a way as always to keep The Central Fire between it and its planetary sister, our Earth, even though this necessitates occasional adjustments in its speed of revolution."
Tarnsman of Gor, page 33

The following is quoted partially from Luther's Scroll #25 and remains his property.

The planet of Gor is a spheroid, shaped like a rounded, inverted top. It is heavier in the southern hemisphere. The planet is smaller than the Earth, is a small distance closer to the Sun, and possesses a lesser gravity. Thus, the Sun looks a fraction larger from the viewpoint of Gor. The angle of the axis of Gor is also somewhat sharper than the Earth. Gor has two polar regions and an equatorial belt, similar to the Earth. It is in the same plane of orbit as the Earth and maintains such an orbit that it keeps the Sun between the two planets, thus blocking visual detection by the Earth.

The planet of Gor is not indigenous to our solar system. It was transported here, by the Priest-Kings, about two million years ago and set into its present location. Its location was chosen to hide it from the Earth and it is thought that the highly advanced technology of the Priest-Kings also conceals the existence of Gor from Earth's other detection capabilities. The Priest-Kings are known to be able to control gravity.

Gor also has three moons, a large one and two smaller ones. They appear white and swift moving through the sky. Only the name of one of the moons has been identified so far in the books. It is one of the small moon and it is called the Prison Moon. There is no explanation given for the origin of its name.

Gor is sparsely populated by humans but animal life is rampant throughout Gor. Few people know about the lands that are east of the Voltai and Thentis Mountain Ranges. There are significant sections of the equatorial jungles, north of Schendi, that are largely uncharted. No one knows what lies west on Thassa past the islands of Cos and Tyros. Ships generally do not travel more than a hundred pasangs west of Cos and Tyros. This area is known as the World's End. Anyone who has sailed there has never returned. Thassa is the name of the sole known ocean. It forms the western body of the primary landmass of Gor.