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Astronomy in the world of Eclipse Phase?

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Fri, 2010-08-13 18:37
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Extrasolar Angel Extrasolar Angel's picture
Astronomy in the world of Eclipse Phase?
Just curious-I wonder what would be the status of astronomy in Eclipse Phase. While of course the Fall and events afterwards possibly harmed astronomy studies in major way, one can't doubt that numerous discoveries were made pre-Fall, and some amateurs with access to specialized equipment can study more. Do you have any ideas for astronomy sites that would reflect the state of technology in Eclipse Phase? How would gatecrashers on established outposts try to discover their location in Galaxy for example? Could astronomy studies be under control of Planetary Consortium to avoid panic-the reason being several astronomers trying to announce discovery of large mega star-lifting operations or mega-structures outside the rim of Galaxy? Are there habitable exoplanets discovered? I realize they are overshadowed by the accessible ones in Gate programs, but they could be tempting target for Brinker or other factions(exhumans for example). Perhaps one of them will try to manipulate resources or gain a ship that would allow them to pursue an escape into such system? Perhaps a corporation has kept a tight grip on research astronomy station in Outer System to keep knowledge about potential artificial object nearby to Solar Station? Do you have any ideas? I was also interested in the prospect of Gravitational Lens of our system http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=785
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[I]Raise your hands to the sky and break the chains. With transhumanism we can smash the matriarchy together.[/i]
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Fri, 2010-08-13 18:55
TBRMInsanity TBRMInsanity's picture
Re: Astronomy in the world of Eclipse Phase?
Space based telescopes will always be better then ground based ones. The only reason ground based ones are so prevalent is that they are WAY cheaper to build and maintain. This would all change in EP. I imagine that certain factions (Like the Jovian Republic) would have an astronomy program that was more for detecting threats, while factions like the Planetary Consortium would have projects to identify the location of exo-system planets discovered via the Gates, along with continuing the efforts of NASA and other Pre-Fall space organizations. The Outer-System would offer the best locations for astronomical study (especially brinker stations) as there would be less interference from the Sun. Of all the factions I think the Argonauts would have the largest number of astronomical study locations.
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Jovian Motto: Your mind is original. Preserve it. Your body is a temple. Maintain it. Immortality is an illusion. Forget it.
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Fri, 2010-08-13 20:00
Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture
Re: Astronomy in the world of Eclipse Phase?
With trivial access to space, high precision manufacturing and really good computing you can run interferometry with absurdly long baselines cheaply - many groups could get themselves extremely good telescopes if they wanted. In In this thread I suggested a hyper-baseline project using exoplanets to get truly amazing resolution. I would expect researchers to possess a remarkably good map of the visible stars in the galaxy, as well as a list of all exoplanets within a few hundred lightyears.
Extrasolar Angel wrote:
How would gatecrashers on established outposts try to discover their location in Galaxy for example?
Assuming they are in the galaxy. I would start by mapping the sky, looking for extragalactic markers like the Andromeda galaxy, the Magellanic clouds and globular clusters. Once you know where they are you can start estimating where you are. Globular clusters are probably great for pinpointing a rough galactic location. If you have a sensitive radio array you can start looking for pulsars and use their known frequencies and locations to really fix your location. They are really the galactic GPS: since they have discrete positions, individual frequencies and slow down in a predictable manner, knowing where you see 5+ of them can fix you in time and space.
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Could astronomy studies be under control of Planetary Consortium to avoid panic-the reason being several astronomers trying to announce discovery of large mega star-lifting operations or mega-structures outside the rim of Galaxy?
Not a chance. It is fairly easy to build telescopes, and in an interplanetary culture they are needed for a lot of everyday things (keeping habitats aligned, checking incoming objects etc). Add to this lots of people with too much spare time and an uncontrolled outer system and it is going to be hard to censor creepy discoveries.
Quote:
Are there habitable exoplanets discovered? I realize they are overshadowed by the accessible ones in Gate programs, but they could be tempting target for Brinker or other factions(exhumans for example). Perhaps one of them will try to manipulate resources or gain a ship that would allow them to pursue an escape into such system?
Sounds likely. We are already close to seeing the first terrestrial exoplanets (who knows what is in the set of planet the Kepler people are embargoing?), so by EPs time we should have a long list of good candidates. There ought to be several groups trying to escape there.
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I was also interested in the prospect of Gravitational Lens of our system http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=785
Cool idea. Hmm, a mission to the *really* far reaches - this is more than five times the distance to Eris - what could possibly go wrong out there in the darkness?
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