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Scale in the Iron Empires

Posted on November 16, 2011 by in Iron Empires | Comments Off on Scale in the Iron Empires

The graphic novel I’m working on is centered on space travel, strategy and tactics in the Iron Empires.  As a result, scale becomes an issue.  From my notebook:

Interstellar Scales

Parsec (pc)

– 1,000 parsecs is 1 kpc (kiloparsec).

– one parsec is approximately 3.262 light years.

– the center of the Milky Way is 8 kpc (26,000 ly) from the Earth, and the Milky Way is about 30 kpc (97,800 ly) across.

– the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the most distant object visible to the naked eye, is a little under 800 kpc (2,600,000 ly) away from the Earth.

 

Lightyear (ly)

– (9.4×1012 km)

– 9,460,730,472,581 km 

– 63,240 astronomical units

– 0.3 parsecs

 

Distortus Vicis (DV)

– roughly two light years

– 1.9×1013 km

 

Astronomical Unit (au)

– The currently accepted value of the AU is 149 ,597 ,871 Kilometers (about 150 million) 

– (1.5×108  km)

 

Sublumina Hora (SH)

– 75,000,000 km

– roughly half an astronomical unit 

 

Particle Density

– HEx shuts down at ~5 particles/cm3.   

– Sublight Drives shut down at ~25 particles/cm3

 – Q-beam fire grows increasingly inaccurate (but more powerful) as the target point approaches 25 ppc.  It shuts down altogether at ~30 ppc.

– Interstellar Medium (ISM) = average of  1 particle per cm3

– Zodiacal Cloud (out to 5 au from the sun) = Varies by system and closeness to the sun. 

– Molecular Clouds (a variety:  Giant, Small, Dwarf and  High Latitude) = 

– High Latitude (“above and below” the galactic disk) = 30 particles per cm3

 

Iron Empires Geography

– Dimensions of the Iron Empires, c. 587 HE = 4000 ly (n/w) x 3200 ly (e/w)

– The Iron Empires’ most distant frontier (from Earth) = 1600 ly (North)

– Area of the Darikahn Empire = roughly 2000 ly (not counting x/y axis)

– The Human Federation’s most distant frontier (from Earth) = 10,000 ly (North), 18,000 ly (to the easternmost sectors in Veil Prefecture)

 

Galactic Distances

– Diameter of the milky way = 100,000 ly

– Thickness (Outside the core) = roughly 1000 ly

– Earth to the Galactic Core = 26,000 ly

– Orion Arm = arm containing Earth

– Perseus Arm = arm 6,400 ly to galactic south of Earth

– Sagittarius Arm = arm 7-8,000 ly to galactic north of Earth

 

Stellar Neighborhood:  Including the sun, there are currently 66 stars comprising 50 systems known to lie within 16 ly (8DV) of Earth.

– Proxima Centauri = 4.2 ly (2.1 DV) away from Earth.

 

Nebulae (distance from earth) 

 Sagittarius Arm:

– Lagoon Nebula (4100 ly) – this is 2500 ly north of the Urfan border

– Trifid Nebula (5400 ly)

– Eagle Nebula  (7000 ly)

Orion Arm:

– Eta Carina Nebula (~8000 ly)

– Orion Nebula (1500 ly) – this is 1100 ly inside Vaylen space

– Rosette Nebula (5200 ly)

 


 

 

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