Space travel question
Jul. 29th, 2007 04:19 pmCan anyone help?
I'm working on a story in which an alien ship is entering the solar system. The crew have been in relativistic flight from a plant at a convenient plot distance (close to us, but not next door). The ship is now decelerating (and may have been for a long time).
It can have any drive system that anyone cares to propose as long as it is reasonably plausible.
How far out is it likely to be spotted? (Consistent with your proposed drive mechanism)
How long would it take to reach Earth orbit from the point where it is spotted?
(For some strange reason, being ill seems to have released the writer's block that I've been plagued with for ages. Maybe it's because my brain knows it's not quite well enough to work on anything serious - though I do seem to be gaining ground on the email now - and thus it's freed me to write)
I'm working on a story in which an alien ship is entering the solar system. The crew have been in relativistic flight from a plant at a convenient plot distance (close to us, but not next door). The ship is now decelerating (and may have been for a long time).
It can have any drive system that anyone cares to propose as long as it is reasonably plausible.
How far out is it likely to be spotted? (Consistent with your proposed drive mechanism)
How long would it take to reach Earth orbit from the point where it is spotted?
(For some strange reason, being ill seems to have released the writer's block that I've been plagued with for ages. Maybe it's because my brain knows it's not quite well enough to work on anything serious - though I do seem to be gaining ground on the email now - and thus it's freed me to write)