Orbits/planets (was:Re: DS2-Orbital Bombardment)

On 11 May 99, at 7:20, Laserlight wrote:
> >rotation :). If they aren't using their own power and are against the
> >rotation a 1.5 hour orbit is *very* low.
> You are assuming circular orbits rather than more eccentric ellipses,
I
> take it?
Yup, for simplicities sake at least. TBH, I did all my cosmology 10
years ago 
so my numbers would have been very rusty in any case.
 
> And is there a game-mechanics reason we need to know how high up we
are?
> Time interval has already been defined.  We can just say "two hundred
> miles up" or whatevr other figure anyone needs for story purposes,
true?
True. There are PSB reasons why ships should be lower/higher. Everything
from 
golfball shaped land based anti-orbital cannons to gigantic plasma
farting 
bugs to dropship release range. :).

Speaking of planets (as we were, vaguely) a mate of mine passed on a
tip. UK 
residents only but.. There are a chain of shops opening up called
Hobbycraft. 
They do nice, decently rigid polystyrene spheres and hemispheres. Large
range 
of sizes and ideal for painting up/modelling as on table planets / moons
/ 
meteors etc for FT. They have a web page at www.hobbycraft.co.uk that
lists 
where all the stores are. *MUCH* better prices than what a certain high 
street games manufacturer charges for their 'new' range of orbital
debris.

			TTFN
				Jon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Did you have a good world when you died? Good enough to base a movie
on?"
    - The Doors
Jonathan White, COS group, Manchester University