In Search of the Sol System

[Karg]

Other Things in system

Lake Armstrong(IIRC) on the moon. Can be seen from Earth

Jupiter Station

Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars
San Francisco Fleet Yards
Spacedock
Saturn Flight Range

[Ensign Arrgh]

The Planetoids: They are indeed part of the Kuyper belt, I initially thought they were other things, but I checked in my references.
The 10th Planet: I don't recall it being mentioned on the show, but I don't recall a mention of there being only 9 planets or of the sun being only a solitary, so if there is one, it could be either a dwarf or a planet.
Population: Estimates place Earth's projected population around 12 billions (slightly less) for the Enterprise period, 9.8 by 2025. Colonies and an event like a global war could create a baby boom effect like WW2 and the colonisation of the Americas did.

[qerlin]

I figured after 300 yrs. Mars would be terraformed to the point that certain areas would have (barely) breathable atmospheres, in places like the Valley of the Mariners (say about the same pressure as Tibet). On Olympus Mons, the pressures high enough you can go out in a good cold suit and rebreather, but don't have an accident on the Nix Olympus ski slopes and crack that faceplate or your done.

Most of it, for us, is still under domes, but more and more settlements and farms are outdoors as gene-fixed plants work to crack the water out of the soil and put oxygen in the air.

So I guess our Mars looks a lot like the B5 Mars. But that's just us...

[Ensign Arrgh]

Originally posted by qerlin
I figured after 300 yrs. Mars would be terraformed to the point that certain areas would have (barely) breathable atmospheres, in places like the Valley of the Mariners (say about the same pressure as Tibet). On Olympus Mons, the pressures high enough you can go out in a good cold suit and rebreather, but don't have an accident on the Nix Olympus ski slopes and crack that faceplate or your done.

Most of it, for us, is still under domes, but more and more settlements and farms are outdoors as gene-fixed plants work to crack the water out of the soil and put oxygen in the air.

So I guess our Mars looks a lot like the B5 Mars. But that's just us...

I heard of a proposed method which, I think, could yield results in less than 3 centuries. The base principle is to use satellites placed around the planet to provoke a massive increase in green house effect to bring up the temperature to enough heat to produce liquid water. The mean temperature on Earth being around 18 degrees celsius, IIRC, it would be an increase of 81 degrees overall, with greenhouse plants and facilities used to increase Oxygen production.

EDIT: Sorry, I meant mean, not average

[Cochrane]

I thought in the real universe terraforming Mars would take a lot longer. And it seems now Mars has dangerous radiation.

[redwood973]

The Kuiper Belt is proving to be interesting reading. It seems to be generally agreed that Pluto and its moon are the largest (yet discovered) objects of the Belt. So is Pluto still considered a planet? As soon as I finish my studies on this topic I will be adding the Belt to the data sheet.

The Oort Cloud is proving to be interesting reading as well. Most of the information I am finding is contradicted my some other source so I am not sure what to do (for example; one source lists its orbit as one light-year from the Sun, another as three light-years distant [where it would more likely be influenced by the gravity of Centarui than our sun]).

Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and most of the other items you mention Karg are on the data sheets (I will have to find a way to mention Lake Armstrong in the Luna write-up), but I have a question. You list the Fleet Yards as being "on Mars." Is there a ground facility in addition to the orbital yards?

Welcome to Persephone (a.k.a Sol X). Well someone has given it a name (NASA has given it an I.D number) so its existance is strongly assumed. Most of the information I am finding consider it to be an outer gas giant (thus a frozen gas ball) of the same classificaiton as Pluto. [I did find one interesting web page on Persephone posted by a person who believes the planet does exist (because NASA has given it an I.D), but has not realeased its existance to the general public because it is on a collision course with us. . .which will take place sometime in the middle of this year. He advises us all to buy hot air balloons as not being on the surface may save us. . .but for the most part he tells us we are all dead. (So that we can not call him a quack-pot when this event does not happen he readily admits it may not happen until 2012 or 2013. . .something about his translations or math maybe being off a bit.)

Originaly posted by Qerlin
I figured after 300 yrs. Mars would be terraformed to the point that certain areas would have (barely) breathable atmospheres, in places like the Valley of the Mariners (say about the same pressure as Tibet). On Olympus Mons, the pressures high enough you can go out in a good cold suit and rebreather, but don't have an accident on the Nix Olympus ski slopes and crack that faceplate or your done.

Most of it, for us, is still under domes, but more and more settlements and farms are outdoors as gene-fixed plants work to crack the water out of the soil and put oxygen in the air.

So I guess our Mars looks a lot like the B5 Mars. But that's just us...

That is the Mars we want! Do you have a data sheet that you use for Mars. I would love to see it if you do!

Cochrane what radiation are you refering too? I have not heard this before.

Terraforming as we understand it (this was from one of the Pocket Books I read a while back) consists of some technology to change the environment, but mostly is just planting a lot of plants to create oxygen. The player helping me with these data sheets recommended I change the "Lifeform Data: Vegitation None" to "Lifeform Data: Vegitation Sparse." Thus accounting for vasts forests and other plantlife grown over the last 300 years of terraforming. [Did LUG or even FASA ever do any background on what it takes to terraform or give any idea on the length of time it might take. . .hell anyone have a good web page on terraforming that might be useful?]

Planetary Temperature information would be a neat thing to add to the data sheets. . .I know its not why you mentioned mean temperatures ENS. Arrgh, but thanks for the idea.

[Lancer]

Originally posted by redwood973
The Kuiper Belt is proving to be interesting reading. It seems to be generally agreed that Pluto and its moon are the largest (yet discovered) objects of the Belt. So is Pluto still considered a planet?

Pluto is traditionaly considered a planet, quite possibly because the discovery of Pluto predates the first theories about the Kuiper Belt by 20 years, i.e. about the only possible classification for Pluto when it was first sighted was as a planet. And the International Astronomical Union (http://www.iau.org/) has stated that they have no intention to change the status of Pluto in any way.

[Cochrane]

http://www.marssociety.org/news/2003/0316.asp

[Karg]

There would most likly be some facility on Mars, There is a colony there after all

[redwood973]

Thanks for the links guys.

Thanks for your input as well Karg. I appreciate the time everyone has taken to assist me with this project.

I had always assumed that the administration of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards would be done from that orbital facility itself or in another orbital facility nearby. Was not the Starfleet Office Complex seen in ST:TMP the administrative hub of the San Francisco Fleet Yards? I had assumed that by ST:TNG the administrative activities would have been centered in the Fleet Yards itself (I always assumed that was the purpose of Spacedock seen in ST:TSFS, to combine construction and administrative activities into one facility).

[StyroFoam Man]

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[C5]

Hey hey, suddenly I'm thinking this cofeehouse would make a perfect Mirror Guinan bar (apart from the appearance of the owner, of course)

Okay, okay, this was waaaaay off topic...

[Identity Crisis]

There's some debate about exactly how to define a 'planet'
See http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...6_planet.shtml

[redwood973]

Cool link Identity Crisis, thanks. Man I dont know what to think. I guess I am in favor of keeping Pluto as a planet, but man adding some of those asteroids to the mix; I am not sure about those.

What did the article say. . .our system could potentially consist of 14 planets? Thats a bit too much.

The Data Sheets have all been updated (I believe I got everything into them). Please note that I made a few changes to the style. . .such as putting all the atmospheric data under one heading and expanding ont he climate section.

The Oort Cloud is listed in a few places as being anywhere from 2 to 3 light-months out from our system. Does anyone know what that might measure out to in AU's? (Still unpacking from my move so I dont have all my goodies out yet.) Thanks!

[Liz Not Beth]

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