Recent content by ckirmser

Oh, no, I liked it, but I already have that sort of tool built in with Astrosynthesis. I was hoping there'd be a formula where I could plug in the angular separation and the difference in orbits that would give me a distance.

I was thinking that I'd just circularize the orbits - for ease of calculation - and determine the distance between the planets based on angular separation and using the formula for a circle - in some fashion. I just have been frying my 66-yr old brain and when my eyes started crossing, I figured...

This is for an RPG - and, I just discovered there is a specific SciFi forum that I was not aware of - so the specific date is 2192 - but, I may adjust that based upon how I postulate certain technologies advancing.

I had firgured that the destination planet would move enough to throw off a direct measurement, but, if not, I'll just go with that. There's a SciFi forum? I had no idea - 'course, didn't look for one, though... Thanx!

I figured on 1g to make any calculations easier. Also, this is for an RPG, so 1g is not unusual.

I had thought the acceleration would be just another variable to plug into the formula, along with the angular separation. Then, I could just plug in the masses and distance from the Sun along with the angular separation of the two planets to get a basic idea of the length of time for the trip...

For what I need, a slingshot maneuver can be ignored. I'm just looking for something where I can plug in an acceleration of, say, 1g, and determine how long it will take to get from Earth to Jupiter, for example. This is just for an RPG, so details can be glossed over.

(Not sure if I selected the proper prefix for this thread or not. If not, could an admin alter it, if necessary?) Hello, all - I'm trying to come up with a general formula to determine the travel time for a spaceship to travel from one planet in orbit around a star to another planet in a...

Well, yeah, I am. if it's a geocentric clock, then this would have no relationship to a real clock, as the planets orbit the Sun, not the Earth. Unless your scope is only that of those objects orbiting the Earth, of course. But, even then, the orbit of, say, the Moon, is also elliptical.

Well, pseudo in that there are no actual, physical hands tying the planets to the Sun and, as you said, the orbits are elliptical; it's hard to get hands to trace an elliptical path on a watch. Wouldn't the Sun be more an analog to the pin holding the hands, rather than one of the hands? I...

That never occurred to me, but, yes, you could look at planetary orbits as pseudo watch hands. Interesting...

Well, cool beaners. I thought the answer might involve some calculus because rates were involved. Thanx, Janus! The three hands will line up only every 12 hours? Hmm - OK, given some pondering, I guess that, as the second hand approaches the minute hand, as it sits over the hour hand, the...

[SIZE=16px][FONT=noto sans] Sorry, I misread your question. The minute hand will have gone around once; I was thinking of the second hand. [SIZE=16px][FONT=noto sans] Perhaps, then, I misunderstood your question; I'm interpreting "lapping" as the passing of the hand. I'm not talking about...

12 times. But, lapping the hour hand is not the question. I'm trying to see if it's possible to determine at what angles the hands overlap and, if so, what is the formula to figure those angles? As an aside, this may not be the right forum for the question; it's not a homework question. Just...

Summary:: Is there a formula to determine when watch hands overlap? The other day, I was sitting on the can and, as I am won't to do, pondering matters of import to the known and unknown universe at large. During the event in question, I happened to notice my watch - and I am having the most...