DEREK STANLEY wrote:
>>Having been following the search for the missing jet for the past
while I can't help but wonder just how daunting looking for a missing
starship would be. Even if you knew the system it was in if it'd well
and truly gone dark finding it would be ... Next to impossible.
And if you'd misjumped and precip'd out somewhere in the outer solar
system. Yuck... Makes you wonder how many ships have simple gone into
the well and never been heard from again.
Derek Stanley<<
I'm not so sure about the first case.
First off, there's the transponder. You'd have to intentionally turn it
off (like the missing jet), which I don't believe free traders are going
to do unless something was up.
Secondly, you're using TL-12 (or better) sensors versus what we've got
today.
Thirdly, how long before the IR signature of the starship blends in with
background crap.
Fourthly, space versus ocean. The ocean is a chaotic mix of currents and
eddies, not to mention it's a difficult medium to penetrate and resolve.
It's why nuclear submarines are such a popular choice to sneak nukes
around on a planet.
Space? Nada. There are no currents, unless you want to count the solar
wind and that only blows in one direction: away from the star. And
there's gravity, but that's somewhat predictable and far less chaotic
than ocean currents. If you know the ship's last heading, you're off to
a good start.
The only thing that obscures your sensors are other "things", unless the
star's EM output is that bad (but we compensate for that now). We're
finding planets around other stars, right now. Amateur astronomers are
finding asteroids in our own solar system. On a really clear night where
the light pollution isn't so bad, I'll bet you can spot a satellite with
just your eyes--and that's through an atmosphere.
A big, shiny refined metal spacecraft out in the emptiness of space is
going to be easier to find with TL-12 gear than that plane.
A misjump is a whole nother matter, however.
\_/
DED
TNE @ Yahoo ml Admin
>>Having been following the search for the missing jet for the past
while I can't help but wonder just how daunting looking for a missing
starship would be. Even if you knew the system it was in if it'd well
and truly gone dark finding it would be ... Next to impossible.
And if you'd misjumped and precip'd out somewhere in the outer solar
system. Yuck... Makes you wonder how many ships have simple gone into
the well and never been heard from again.
Derek Stanley<<
I'm not so sure about the first case.
First off, there's the transponder. You'd have to intentionally turn it
off (like the missing jet), which I don't believe free traders are going
to do unless something was up.
Secondly, you're using TL-12 (or better) sensors versus what we've got
today.
Thirdly, how long before the IR signature of the starship blends in with
background crap.
Fourthly, space versus ocean. The ocean is a chaotic mix of currents and
eddies, not to mention it's a difficult medium to penetrate and resolve.
It's why nuclear submarines are such a popular choice to sneak nukes
around on a planet.
Space? Nada. There are no currents, unless you want to count the solar
wind and that only blows in one direction: away from the star. And
there's gravity, but that's somewhat predictable and far less chaotic
than ocean currents. If you know the ship's last heading, you're off to
a good start.
The only thing that obscures your sensors are other "things", unless the
star's EM output is that bad (but we compensate for that now). We're
finding planets around other stars, right now. Amateur astronomers are
finding asteroids in our own solar system. On a really clear night where
the light pollution isn't so bad, I'll bet you can spot a satellite with
just your eyes--and that's through an atmosphere.
A big, shiny refined metal spacecraft out in the emptiness of space is
going to be easier to find with TL-12 gear than that plane.
A misjump is a whole nother matter, however.
\_/
DED
TNE @ Yahoo ml Admin