How exactly would space coordinates for planets work?

If one day Aston encounters an hereto before unknown alien race and the only thing he has is a set of coordinates provided by the aliens, what, if anything, could Aston do with them? :D
Hand them over to Jeanie, and let her mess with the details... ;-)
 
The one thing that I'd really worry about is trusting an alien species to send us complete information. I don't see us sending ships to a set of coordinates, without sending a lot of probes and such to check the general area out first.

Unless, of course, we send out a generational exploration vessel, and said aliens detect us and send information in-transit...
 
Was searching through looking for some clues as to how FTL enthusiasts think how the destination is computed. Forgetting the speed, how would we navigate say to any particular star in Sagittarius? Thanks.
 
Thanks. Not sure if I spotted anything relating to using the Star of a Solar System as a reference for navigation. I have read some Sci-Fi that navigates by jumps to those points i.e. a ‘Star Map’. I guess wherever one builds a map by starting at one point, our Sun, and building from there. Have actual Astronomers actually formulated a means of navigating to the nearest Star?
 
I don't see us sending ships to a set of coordinates, without sending a lot of probes and such to check the general area out first.
I always thought of probes as automated ships? Piloted by program or remote. More like drone technology than throwing a paper airplane.

I don't believe we will be navigating space long distances with any help from aliens. I believe any piloted craft we use will be like trailblazing. Space is big and sparse, trailblazing thru a field is much less complicated and more direct than trailblazing thru a forest or a bramble. When the craft encounters a forest the pilot or navcom or both will make adjustments to the trajectory for the best possible path as it encounters obstacles.
 
Have actual Astronomers actually formulated a means of navigating to the nearest Star?
Thats a good question?

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The nearest 'Star' is not a star, it is a trinary system which has 3 stars.
There are some fundamental things that science does not know about interstellar space.
Voyager is still in the solar system's influence.
If you consider the heliosheath and how it is shaped, it indicates that the solar system is moving thru interstellar medium.

1518738660619.png

Notice how there is a leading and trailing edge?
Something is causing that distortion. If there was no force acting on it, the heliopause would resemble the termination shock as a round structure. Note that the Bow Shock is hypothetical (we don't know).

Without knowing the specific properties of the interstellar wind, it is impossible to plot a course to the nearest star because like a sail in a windstorm, it 'could' blow you off course.
Plus we don't know if there is debris in that interstellar medium.
We won't run into any stars but we could run into planet sized debris moving with the interstellar wind.
 
Star of a Solar System as a reference for navigation.
Sidereal time is a timekeeping system that astronomers use to locate celestial objects. Using sidereal time it is possible to easily point a telescope to the proper coordinates in the night sky. Briefly, sidereal time is a "time scale that is based on Earth's rate of rotation measured relative to the fixed stars" rather than the Sun.

The name of our star is Sol. Its nickname is The Sun. The SOLar System is the star system associated with our star, Sol. Some people think that is being picky but considering that the physical properties within this star system are unique to our star, it could be very important in navigating the Orion's Arm.

Each craft will have its own sidereal time in space. Navigation will need to consider that when determining course corrections. Not the sidereal time of the Sun, the sidereal time of the craft in its current position. A factor that will change as it moves.
Then there is the newly confirmed gravitational waves that need to be considered. Gravitational lensing will also distort the navigation of distant stars. Gravity affects mass but lack of gravity also affects mass. Gravity will have to be mapped and accounted for because it will affect the craft's trajectory.

The short distances to our planets can have all this accounted for but when we're talking light years, all bets are off.
 
Since everything in the universe is moving and most systems travel at a constant speed, no matter the process or tech used, when going across any real distance you would have to plot a course to where it will be, not where it is when you begin your voyage. NASA does that on a local scale now.
 
Get one of these babies with a full crew, and you wont have to worry.....856f4-star-trek-warp.jpgAll on board equipment would plot a course, and you could warp to any spot in the universe in record time....:cool:
 
Get one of these babies with a full crew, and you wont have to worry.....View attachment 13350All on board equipment would plot a course, and you could warp to any spot in the universe in record time....:cool:
Well, the one I saw had problems nearly every week. Always something going wrong or something down for maintenance. Scotty was seriously underpaid.
 
Oh, and the newer model, even worse. I actually felt bad for Geordi LaForge and he had help from Data.
 
I'm probably not going to state this exactly as it should be but... going back to the original question, if I understood the show correctly, in the original ST there was an episode where they traveled in time twice, and when they got back Kirk told Chekhov / Sulu to check for what amounted to a standard time signal from Star Fleet. They quickly figured out they had arrived back 2 days before they left.

My point is, it sounded to me like there was a constant (sub space) signal from some place they used to set some form of universal time similar to Greenwich Meantime that all of Star Fleet used to keep everyone on the same page.

Like wise, each planet would broadcast a constant signal that acted like a lighthouse. Ships would search for the specific signal for a particular planet (like an ISP) and would follow the signal to the source, even if it was in motion like tracking a GPS in a moving car pinging off different towers as a car travels.
 
FYI - The posts about 'how to navigate to a star' from the FTL thread were moved into this thread.
 
I'm probably not going to state this exactly as it should be but... going back to the original question, if I understood the show correctly, in the original ST there was an episode where they traveled in time twice, and when they got back Kirk told Chekhov / Sulu to check for what amounted to a standard time signal from Star Fleet. They quickly figured out they had arrived back 2 days before they left.

My point is, it sounded to me like there was a constant (sub space) signal from some place they used to set some form of universal time similar to Greenwich Meantime that all of Star Fleet used to keep everyone on the same page.

Like wise, each planet would broadcast a constant signal that acted like a lighthouse. Ships would search for the specific signal for a particular planet (like an ISP) and would follow the signal to the source, even if it was in motion like tracking a GPS in a moving car pinging off different towers as a car travels.

You can’t explore unknown space this way. There are no signals there. So we are stuck in this solar saystem or likely to get lot with no return coordinates.
 
My point is, it sounded to me like there was a constant (sub space) signal from some place they used to set some form of universal time similar to Greenwich Meantime that all of Star Fleet used to keep everyone on the same page.
If my Star Trek verse memory is correct, the Federation uses a series of space based buoys to act as communications relays.
 
You can’t explore unknown space this way. There are no signals there. So we are stuck in this solar saystem or likely to get lot with no return coordinates.
Not necessarily; if your mode of transportation means linear travel then the co-ordinates can be mapped/configured as you go using one of the methods described in this thread. If you ended up in the unknown space via something like a random jump via a blink drive then, yeah, you're lost & need to find your way home which, by the way, is the basis for lot's of sci-fi works. ;)
 
There's been some comments on how space is moving and how that requires certain adjustments to compensate or you will arrive in empty space.
I believe that is true in relative space like within a star system. Trajectories need to be 'headed' with lead time.
Basically, you shoot for where the object will be, not where it is.

In FTL or Warp travel between stars, galactic arms or galaxies, the navigation would be different. Basically, you take a heading on the apparent position of your destination and set off towards it. You lock onto the object like its a beacon or anchor point. As you get closer to the objects actual position, the trajectory of your craft bends with the difference of where it was when you started and where it is at the present lock.

What it seems like in your craft is that you are moving in a straight shot to your destination where in reality you are traveling on a great arc to your destination. The trajectory is calculated and adjusted in a smooth constant rate of change relative to your speed keeping the apparent position of your destination as focal point.

Maneuvering is still required depending on your destination and what is between you and it. Your 'arc' may take you in direct collision with a star or object that crosses your trajectory. That collision is accounted for. Keeping your original target in navigation the collision object is then navigated and adjustments to the trajectory is changed to miss it but keep the original heading.

So now, instead of one smooth arc of travel it becomes a zigzag of arcs, bending and twisting around the barriers that are encountered during your trip. In the craft, it still appears you are traveling in a straight line.
The closer you get to the destination the more precise the calculations and the more radical the trajectory arcs.
Your speed determines your proximity maneuvering distances.

You don't Warp 8 from starting point to destination. Depending on the density of objects at your destinations 'near' space. You may arrive in the vicinity of your destination at Warp 1 or 2. Then, in relative space, you would adopt the calculating position trajectory to allow you to arrive at the planet or moon or other object.
Basically, you will drive your ship to where your destination is going to be and let your destination come to you. Its what NASA does but instead of getting there and waiting for the destination, they calculate it so they arrive at that space the same time the destination gets there.
 
Space ships don't turn. They don't stop, reorient and set off again in a new direction.
Newton's laws of motion still apply in space.

When a ship is traveling at Warp any new heading is a calculated arc of change.
Even reversing direction is a wide, gradual rate of change.
Space is big, real big. Space is empty, real empty.
There's room.
Even if there are objects in the way, they are calculated and accounted for in the reversing trajectory.
A constant, steady, fine adjustment.

In regular space, sub-light, the same laws of motion apply.
You can go to where Jupiter will be and stop but it will take a lot of energy to stop.
Plus, in reality you are not stopping at all.
You are stopping relative to the object you are meeting.
You are positional stopping to maintain your position in a moving Universe.

I know what you're thinking...Voyager made a turn before it headed out of the solar system.
What Voyager did was a gravity assist trajectory change.
It looks like it did a severe turn but relative to its mass and its speed it was a gradual turn.
If you have ever watched a shuttle dock with the space station you would see it making
maneuvering adjustments using its thrusters. But the shuttle approaches the station at agonizingly slow speeds relative to its mass. It doesn't just fly up and dock.
In reality, both the shuttle and the ISS are moving at high speed.
Its their relativity to each other that makes it appear the shuttle is barely moving from the camera view on the station.
Its this relativity that allows low thrust to adjust the micro angles needed for docking.

I explored traveling by stopping in another thread.
It basically deals with relativity and stopping relative to the motion of different things in the Universe.
Stopping and allowing your destination to catch up with your current position.

In science fiction nearly anything is possible given the imagination of the writer.
There are however, some things that are not scientifically plausible.
Stopping your craft to take a new heading is one of those.
Not only is it a waste of energy, it doesn't make sense.
 
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