Aether

Aether is a rogue planet in the Dasha region of space. It is the home of the Luminoth. A long time ago, a Leviathan from Phaaze crashed onto the planet, bringing with it pure darkness in the form of the Ing Horde, and the alternate dimension of Dark Aether, which they came from using Light Portals. It is likely that the Emperor Ing was originally a native creature from Phaaze (see: Phaz-Ing) corrupted by the Leviathan to protect its core. When the Leviathan created a wormhole to appear near the planet; due to the unstable energy of Aether, the Leviathan ripped open the dark dimension and crashed upon it. In fact, the impact of the meteor was felt in Aether as well. Since splitting with Dark Aether, the planet has become plagued with violent electrical storms in its atmosphere and purple clouds, a direct result of the battle for dominance between the two planets. In addition to creating Dark Aether, the impact left Aether mostly rocky and barren, ruining what had once been a beautiful landscape. A few weeks after the impact, the Luminoth race eventually pulled out of their shelters to see what has happened to the planet, they discovered that the meteor was nowhere to be found. It was eventually restored to light by Samus Aran when she visited the planet a few months later. Some areas of Aether include the Temple Grounds, the Great Temple, Agon Wastes, Torvus Bog, and the Sanctuary Fortress.

History
The Luminoth had no home planet to begin with, but after meeting other races (including the Chozo) who had laid claim to a homeworld, they decided to do the same, eventually settling on Aether. Aether, as a rogue planet, had no sun; instead of sunlight, the planet depended on an energy source the Luminoth named "The Light of Aether". The Light was so powerful, it threatened the planet's well-being, and so the Luminoth built the Energy Controllers to channel it. The controllers used the Light to power a teleportation system and weather control grid, in addition to many other Luminoth creations.

Ruin came in the form of a Leviathan from Phaaze, similar to the one that had struck Tallon IV before, except that the Phazon energy in this particular Leviathan was ten-fold compared to Tallon IV. The impact itself was devastating: Agon, which had been a vast plain, became a desert wasteland; and Torvus, which had been a lush forest, was flooded with water. In addition, the pure phazon energy in the leviathan itself caused the original Aether to split from a new world called Dark Aether, and the Light of Aether was split between the two planets. As the Luminoth lived on Aether, a new race called the Ing was born on Dark Aether, and began invading the Luminoth's world through portals.

In response, the Luminoth developed technology such as the Light, Dark, and Annihilator beams, the Light and Dark suits, portal-opening devices, and light beacon technology that kept them safe from Dark Aether's caustic atmosphere. They also created the Energy Transfer Module, a device meant to take the energy from Dark Aether's energy controllers and restore it to Aether. Despite their efforts, the Ing pressed into Aether, taking over Agon, Torvus, and the Sanctuary Fortress one by one. The team that ventured into Dark Aether retrieved the keys to the Sky Temple, where the Emperor Ing resided, but was then split up and killed, one by one, and the Energy Transfer Module was stolen by the Ing.

Having lost all hope, the remaining Luminoth locked themselves in suspended animation, hoping for a miracle to save them. The current Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos, stayed awake to watch as the Ing approached. U-Mos soon met the bounty hunter Samus Aran, and asked for her help in saving the planet.

What brought Samus to the planet was news of a missing GF starship; the G.F.S. Tyr, which had disappeared while in pursuit of a Space Pirate ship. The GF force had damaged the Space Pirate ship, forcing it to crash land onto the planet's surface. The GF ship followed, but was damaged by lightning when travelling through Aether's turbulent atmosphere, and made an emergency landing as well. Samus locates these GF troopers and learns this, but they had already been killed by Ing forces long before she arrived. She then learns more of these "Ing", and then sets out on a journey much larger than what she had originally planned: she was to destroy the Ing's dwelling, Dark Aether, by returning "the Light of Aether" back to its rightful place in order to restore the planet to a more stable state.

After this mission was completed, the Galactic Federation came to Aether and collected most of the remaining Phazon from the planet. The Phazon they left behind was collected by the Space Pirates, who also unknowingly picked up Dark Samus. The Luminoth, meanwhile, began the task of rebuilding their planet.

Temple Grounds
The area Samus Aran makes planetfall on. In the game it acts as an overworld-type area, linking all of the other areas. It's the area surrounding the Luminoth built Great Temple.

Great Temple
Great Temple is the last refuge of the Luminoth and houses the last of the Luminoth placed under stasis sleep and guarded by the sentinel of the Great Temple, U-Mos.

Agon Wastes
The barren desert area of Aether. Before the event the Luminoth refer to as the Cataclysm, the Agon Wastes was a lush green field of grass, named the Agon Plains. This area is the location of the Space Pirate mining and lab headquarters. This is also the area where you first enter the Dark World, and where you fight Dark Samus for the fist time.

Torvus Bog
This forest area of Aether has turned into a rotting bog after the Cataclysm. It's home to many dangerous creatures, such as the dreaded Grenchlers.

The Torvus Bog is divided into two areas: The upper Torvus and the lower Torvus.

The Upper Torvus is the Bog area and The Lower Torvus is the temple built by the Luminoth, which was later completely flooded with water.

Sanctuary Fortress
A giant fortress building built by the Luminoth to be the ultimate sanctuary for the Luminoth population. Filled with independent mechanisms and sentry droids, it's a very dangerous area. The area also contains parts of the Quadraxis, possibly taken apart to prevent the Ing from possessing it and causing further harm on the Luminoth civilization, But in the dark world the Ing have claimed it as their "Hive" and have re-built and manipulated most of the machines from light aether.

Logbook entry
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ''Planet is unstable due to transdimensional flux. Warfare has devastated a good portion of the world's population. Finally, extreme climate shifts have left most of Aether uninhabitable.''

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: ''Satellite information shows that Aether is slowly recovering from a cataclysmic event. A stellar object struck the planet with an incredible force, burning Aether's fertile plains and destroying the lush forests covering her surface. The planet's own energy supply, once torn in two by the impact, is now stable. The inhabitants of the world, the starborne Luminoth, have begun the long task of mending Aether.''

Trivia

 * In Greek mythology, Aether is the name of the personification of the upper sky, space, and heaven.
 * The concept of planet Aether may have originated from the now obselete scientific theory, "luminiferous aether."
 * The planet's name was foreshadowed in Metroid Prime by the rooms Research Lab Aether and Aether Lab Entryway.
 * In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radient Dawn, Aether is the name of Ike's Mastery Skill. Also, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is Ike's up B attack. Interestingly, the screenshots for Ike's moveset on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl website show Ike using this move on Samus.
 * In Aion, Deava are humans gifted with the ability to control Aether, a magical energy that is connected to the life of the planet it much the same way the Light of Aether is in Echoes.
 * It is plausible that Aether may have never been meant to be hit with a Leviathan in the first place. As Aether is a rogue planet, it is conceivable that the planet slowly drifted in the way of the seed.