Orbital mechanics

BrockthePaine · Post by **BrockthePaine** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:29 am

Aurrin, check out a computer program called Gravitation3D - it predicts the stability of orbits based upon their masses and size and whatnot.

Rokas · Post by **Rokas** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:09 pm

EdBecerra wrote: I'm reminded of a game world used in Battletech, and in one of the novels... it's a world that USED to have a life-sphere, but it was ripped away in a cosmic accident. Now what life is left is at the bottoms of what were the abyssal depths of the now dry ocean beds, while the continental landmasses are, for all intents and purposes, so "high" above the little atmosphere that remains, they're airless.

As an aside, that I think was from one of the missions in MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries. You had to fight the Dread Legion after they went rogue on the Draconis Combine and all... Ahh, the allure of a lostech memory core, makes even noble men ready to sell their mothers off. Can't remember the planet's name, though.

And as for the pulasr planets... It's probably God messing with the astronomers' heads.

Because He's cool like that. Sorta like his Duck-billed platypus joke.

Hmm... Interesting, a low density moon? Specifically, what density? I don't think I've seen that number placed 'round here.

Aurrin · Post by **Aurrin** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:35 pm

EdBecerra wrote:I'm reminded of a game world used in Battletech, and in one of the novels... it's a world that USED to have a life-sphere, but it was ripped away in a cosmic accident. Now what life is left is at the bottoms of what were the abyssal depths of the now dry ocean beds, while the continental landmasses are, for all intents and purposes, so "high" above the little atmosphere that remains, they're airless.

I'm pretty sure Malacandra was scribed to paper long before MechWarrior, and may very well have served as it's inspiration.

*wonders if anyone will know what that is*

BrockthePaine · Post by **BrockthePaine** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:18 pm

Aurrin wrote:*wonders if anyone will know what that is*

That's a trilogy I ought to read again... it's probably been... och aye, over ten years? Impossible...

I liked Ransom best as the pendragon... all the best quotes were from the last book, IMHO...

“The cardinal difficulty,” said MacPhee, “in collaboration between the sexes is that women speak a language without nouns. If two men are dong a bit of work, one will say to the other, ‘Put this bowl inside the bigger bowl which you’ll find on the top shelf of the green cupboard.’ The female for this is, ‘Put that in the other one in there.’ And then if you ask them, ‘in where?’ they say, ‘in there, of course.’ There is consequently a phatic hiatus.”

“…starlight on a pool fouled with blood, eagles crowding the pale sky…”

“In that attitude eternity overtook him as sunrise in old tales overtakes and turns them into unchangeable stone.”

C.S. Lewis was truly the master...