Hi all,
No doubt that you've heard about the discovery of seven Earth-sized (0.4
to 1.4 T-masses) worlds around Trappist-1, an M8 V red dwarf that's a
mere 40 light years away. Of the seven, three are considered to be
within its habitable zone.
No disrespect to the game's designers, but Traveller's system generation
procedure has been taking a beating since Kepler kicked into high gear.
Dozens of worlds have been revealed orbiting their parent star so close
that they make Mercury seem like its out in the bleachers. For me, this
latest discovery is the last straw. It's bizarre enough thinking that an
M8 V can have a habitable zone, but seven worlds orbiting within 0.065
AU? Traveller's closest orbit is 0.2 AU, but this is what astronomers
are telling us.
It's funny. All these years I've been trying to correct for the game's
garden worlds that were placed around these pitiful cinders by goosing
them up to something that actually puts out some heat, and now reality
is saying that these snowballs actually have habitable zones with worlds
in orbits we didn't think possible (at least by the game's rules). But
if all planets orbiting close to red dwarves are tidelocked, as has been
argued by some astronomers, does it matter? Are they really inhabitable?
I'm at a loss as to what to do.
If there are no set orbits and every star has a habitable zone (HZ),
then you can put worlds wherever you want around any star you want. So
there's no need for hard-coded rules. Want a cooler world? Push it
towards the outer reaches of the HZ. Want a hot world? Push it towards
the inner edge of the HZ and useblack body temp calculations.
I'm tempted to delete all stellar data from all systems I create because
it all just seems meaningless. And Traveller's seemingly Keplerian
orbits are now simplistic. I've struggled with modifying Nick Bradbeer's
WTH spreadsheet to generate more accurate planetary temperature
profiles, but now that too seems like a lost cause.
So what is everyone doing about this in their TUs? Are you ignoring
reality because it's too complicated to game, or are you working with an
alternative system generating procedure?
Thoughts?
\_/
DED
TNE @ Yahoo ml Admin
No doubt that you've heard about the discovery of seven Earth-sized (0.4
to 1.4 T-masses) worlds around Trappist-1, an M8 V red dwarf that's a
mere 40 light years away. Of the seven, three are considered to be
within its habitable zone.
No disrespect to the game's designers, but Traveller's system generation
procedure has been taking a beating since Kepler kicked into high gear.
Dozens of worlds have been revealed orbiting their parent star so close
that they make Mercury seem like its out in the bleachers. For me, this
latest discovery is the last straw. It's bizarre enough thinking that an
M8 V can have a habitable zone, but seven worlds orbiting within 0.065
AU? Traveller's closest orbit is 0.2 AU, but this is what astronomers
are telling us.
It's funny. All these years I've been trying to correct for the game's
garden worlds that were placed around these pitiful cinders by goosing
them up to something that actually puts out some heat, and now reality
is saying that these snowballs actually have habitable zones with worlds
in orbits we didn't think possible (at least by the game's rules). But
if all planets orbiting close to red dwarves are tidelocked, as has been
argued by some astronomers, does it matter? Are they really inhabitable?
I'm at a loss as to what to do.
If there are no set orbits and every star has a habitable zone (HZ),
then you can put worlds wherever you want around any star you want. So
there's no need for hard-coded rules. Want a cooler world? Push it
towards the outer reaches of the HZ. Want a hot world? Push it towards
the inner edge of the HZ and useblack body temp calculations.
I'm tempted to delete all stellar data from all systems I create because
it all just seems meaningless. And Traveller's seemingly Keplerian
orbits are now simplistic. I've struggled with modifying Nick Bradbeer's
WTH spreadsheet to generate more accurate planetary temperature
profiles, but now that too seems like a lost cause.
So what is everyone doing about this in their TUs? Are you ignoring
reality because it's too complicated to game, or are you working with an
alternative system generating procedure?
Thoughts?
\_/
DED
TNE @ Yahoo ml Admin