Planets of the Hainish Cycle third planet of our solar system. Terrans are descendents of colonists from Hain. At some unspecified date, Terrans join the "League of All Worlds", which includes the Cetians and other peoples of Hainish descent. In "The Left Hand of Darkness", it is said that 'Hainish Normal' people were placed among Terra's own proto-hominid autochthones by the ancient Hainish 'colonizers'. After that initial contact with Hainish civilization Terra experiences two more cycles of isolation followed by the restoration of extraterrestrial contact and community with other worlds. The second period of contact with the interstellar Hainish community is the background for "The
Small Solar System body Small Solar System body A small Solar System body (SSSB) is an object in the Solar System that is neither a planet, a dwarf planet, nor a natural satellite. The term was first defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as follows: "All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as 'Small Solar System Bodies' ". This encompasses all comets and all minor planets other than those that are dwarf planets. Thus SSSBs are: the classical asteroids, with the exception of the dwarf planet Ceres; the trojans; and the centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects,