Find your bearings in space

Finding your bearing in space is not straight forward. Everything is in constant motion. Anything that seams "static” is in a static rotation, not still, even the Milky Way. Static objects are in static motion with respect to a larger rotating mass which has a center and an axis of rotation. Hence North, South and Origin of coordinates are stablished around it. We define our position with respect to the closest largest object, roughly speaking, the one which has most gravitational effect on us. Its origin is in motion with respect to other external objects, but we don’t care.

For example Tantú is a satellite of Tianlán, which is a planet orbiting around a star called Spofiné. Travelling towards Tantú from the Earth, for example, we would use galactic coordinates (Absolute Lactean Coordinates) to find Spofine. As we get close, our ships system of coordinates will jump to Spofiné’s. Using them, we will be able to locate Tianlán, the blue. As soon as the gravitational pull from the planet is more significant than that of the star, we switch to the Tianlanite Coordinate System. At bare eyesight Tantú, the red moon, will become visible, and we will again switch coordinate reference when the gravitational pool tips over. Thus we will be aple to land safely on Tantú’s space elevator platform .

In the next post we will explore what these coordinates are and how to use them.

Are you ready to land in Tantú?