Re: BSG thoughts(spoilers/speculation for the most recent episode)

spoo space re-inserted.





























In article <1125465532.126910.236970@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Catman Andy" <alpe97@xxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> I always assumed one was NOT on the planet when looking for the
> constellations. As you say, like a planetarium. But I began
> wondering... are the constellation positions nearly constant no matter
> where we are in solar orbit? If so, HOW can that be unless they pace
> us around the sun? That doesn't seem likely.

Actually, it's the result of something called parallax. the stars tat
make up the constellations are so far away that no matter where you go
inside our solar system, the sky looks the same. in fact, you could even
visit some of our nearest stellar neighbors and see the same
constellations, as only a handful of stars would "move" in perspective
to each other in anything less than about 5-10 light years distance, and
most constellations are made up of stars much much farther than that.

or to put this into a "human" scale, if you look out you window and see
a range of mountains, then go a 10th of a mile down the street, you will
see the exact same view of the mountains. and if you're looking at
mountains say, 30 miles away, then you could easily move 3-6 miles away
and still see a view that is almost, if not perfectly identical.

now, if ron moore realizes this, then he should also realize that BSG is
most likely set in the same galactic arm, as most of the stars we can
see, and iirc, all of the constellations are within a bubble of umm, a
certain amount of Light years from us(somewhere in the low thousands,
istr). and to be able to see ANY of the constellations the same as on
earth, you need to be pretty much in the same direction as earth, and
since the 12 signs each are in a different direction...i believe it
should just be a matter of triangulation. if they know 3 constellations
that look identical, or nearly so to the way they look on earth, and are
pretty far apart in direction, then it should be simple to nail down the
location of earth to a handful of stars. the more constellations that
they can find exact matches for, the narrower they can make their
search.

that's just one of the reasons i think they'll find earth, and soon.

....Chris

.

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