The Last Frontier?

Wedge009

Wedge009

Rogue Leader
Just wondering... with the Kilrathi counter-spinward, the Steltek coreward and the Landriech (at least according to LOAF) rimward of the Confederation, is there anything spinward? Specifically, beyond the borders of the Avalon, Hawking and Argent sectors?

So far, there doesn't appear to be any expansion in that direction (there are only a number of 'unexplored' systems), and with the Mantu and the Nephilim(?) counter-spinward of the Kilrathi borders, might it be interesting to have an enemy pop up from this unexplored region? Doesn't have to be a new threat (gee, how original), the Nephilim might try to open wormholes there and attack from that front. That would at least give those sector governors less reason to complain of their resources being "...squandered on temporal hotbeds, which offer little... other than financial and emotional stress over sectors which are constantly in trouble." :)

In fact, doesn't even have to be a threat, a new ally? Some fantastical new resources, perhaps? Any ideas?
 
The wormholes are based on natural phenomena, and are probably therefore somewhat limited in where they may and may not be opened...

As you head spinward the number of stars dramatically decreases until there are none at all... so there's less and less of a chance of finding anything interesting.
 
Oh... still, I think there ought to be something. :)

Double Helix... hmm, didn't think of that. From what I understand, contact was initially made via space probes in unexplored systems, and later with brain-zorching harmonics. :) But this was before the Vega campaign, surely an effort was made to make physical contact at some point - are the Double Helix mentioned anywhere else other than Claw Marks, the ICIS manual, and the SO fiction?
 
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
The wormholes are based on natural phenomena, and are probably therefore somewhat limited in where they may and may not be opened...

As you head spinward the number of stars dramatically decreases until there are none at all... so there's less and less of a chance of finding anything interesting.
Click to expand...

Is that statement based on the sparse confed colonies that are spinward?
 
Originally posted by Filler


Is that statement based on the sparse confed colonies that are spinward?
Click to expand...

Um... no... it's a statement based on simple fact... Stars are more concentrated coreward than towards the edge of the arms. We're pretty far out ourselves to begin with, as well.
 
Originally posted by TC
Um... no... it's a statement based on simple fact... Stars are more concentrated coreward than towards the edge of the arms. We're pretty far out ourselves to begin with, as well.
Click to expand...
Well, that explains why there would be less stars in the direction of the galactic rim (anti-coreward), but we all knew that anyway :p. But the question is, why would there be less stars spin-ward (Hawking, Argent, Avalon) than anti-spinward (Vukar Tag, Kilrah, M'shrak)?
 
If you look at the picture on the map(under the "quadrant navigation" section), the stars don't do that.
 
Theory has it that the center of our galaxy is actually one hell of a big black hole(or would that be a powerful one, seeing as how gravwells are immesurably small). So the closer spinward you get, the more distortion... but you'd have to get pretty close to make any system unlivable... *hooray for pointless posts*
I swear, I thought I had a point when I started...
 
Sounds to me like there's two conflicting definitions of the term "spinward" being used here...
 
I just go by what's on the Universe Map:
Gemini sector is coreward of Sol, Enigma sector is rimward.
Hawking sector is spinward of Sol, and Vega sector is counter-spinward.
How hard can it be?
 
I guess we need to describe a few terms. Confed, and real life to some extent, use 4 galatic directions to determine location: Coreward, Rimward, Spinward, Antispinward. There are actually 6, but Galatic North and Galatic South are irrelevant to Confed. The others were created since our galaxy is roughly a circle, and the dirrection point in the following ways:

  • Coreward - the radial direction that points to the galatic core.
  • Rimward - the radial direction that points away from teh core.
  • Spinward = the angular direction that points in the direction the galaxy is rotating.
  • Antispinward - the angular direction that points against the direction the galaxy is rotating towards

Wedge already anoounced which direction is which on the map, and you can determinbe the rest.

The original question asked why weren't there that many stars in the spinward drirection from Sol. In otherwords, he wanted to know what systems/species existed further down the spiral arm from us.
 
Indeed. So no one has any idea where the Double Helix (or any other of WC's numerous species) are, or what's out there past Avalon/Hawking/Argent?
 
I suppose I should have stopped myself before posting that gibberish and checked the definitons... oh well. I meant coreward.
 
Quick question, does the Galaxy rotate at an even rate, or do the stars closer in rotate at a slower rate than those on the rim.

If I remember correctly a galactic rotation is 250m years, so does it take a coreward star 250m years to arrive at the same 'point' (ignoring intergalactic drift)
 
Objects closer to a gravitational center orbit faster, therefore the stars near the core orbit faster than the stars further out. The reason that the spiral arms of the galaxy do not wind themselves up like a spring is because stars drop out from the trailing ends of the arms to be picked up by the arms behind them--the "arms" orbit at one revolution every 225 million years, but the stars themselves orbit according to normal laws of orbital mechanics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top