Navigation
(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))
By Akarge
This article is going to try and give us some navigation tools for the Swarm universe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_coordinate_system
I have found a picture showing the relationship of the sun to the rest of the galaxy and a simple coordinate system.
File:Page1 1.jpg
This system is based upon the concept of our Solar system as its center. As you can see, the galactic center is along the zero degree longitude line. It is also the zero degree latitude line.
Latitude is easy. Latitude goes UP to 90 degrees as locations go above the galactic equator, which we happen to be very close to. 90 is straight up. Minus 90 is straight down.
Longitude is a bit trickier. 90 degrees is clockwise, heading into the spiral. I may sometimes use the term 'Spinward'. The opposite direction, 270 degrees, is heading roughly out the spiral arm, counter clockwise, 'Trailing'. 0 degrees is 'Coreward', towards the galactic core, while 180 degrees is 'Rimward', heading outside the Galaxy.
This next picture is from a different perspective, so almost everything is backwards. (In my searching for maps, I have noticed that astronomy mappers tend to argue about which of these orientations is 'correct'.)
File:Orion Arm.jpg
It is a bit hard to see here, but Sol (the sun) is in something called the Cygnus-Orion arm or the Local Arm, the Orion Arm, the Local Spur or the Orion Spur. It is basically a stream of stars running from the Cygnus arm, across the Perseus arm and down to the Sagittarius arm. We are located between the Perseus arm and the Sagittarius arm, which we are closest to. From this perspective, the Galactic Core (zero degrees) is just a bit to the left of straight down.
The point of all this is that the Swarm are generally advancing along the Orion Arm from the left to the right. So, the general bearing to them from Earth is 260 degrees of longitude. (plus or minus about 60 degrees) This allows us to figure out roughly where some of our colonies are. Notice the scale here. 1000 light years is more than the width of the entire arm. The current front line is between the Sun and Betelgeuse.
The Galaxy is also divided into 4 quadrants along these lines: · 1st galactic quadrant – 0° ≤ longitude (ℓ) ≤ 90° · 2nd galactic quadrant – 90° ≤ ℓ ≤ 180° · 3rd galactic quadrant – 180° ≤ ℓ ≤ 270° · 4th galactic quadrant – 270° ≤ ℓ ≤ 360° (0°) The 3rd quadrant is on our right front as we face the Swarm, while the 4th is on our left front. The dividing line is just 'left' of the line of the swarm advance.
Ok, so here is the info that I have managed to scrounge up. I have no clue as to latitudes, and just some hints re: longitudes.
Borneo Sector is quadrant 4, and shading into quadrant 1. Straight towards the galactic core and longitudes 10 to 345 or so. It is 280 light years from Earth, but I don't know if that is to the border or the administrative center. Ishtar itself is further towards the front, so it is probably around 340 to 330 degrees. Leo sector is between Borneo and the Earth along the same headings as Borneo. Apparently the Swarm are going way around our left flank. They may be working down the little spur that goes that way to the Sagittarius arm
Vulcan is my colony in another direction entirely and is near the right flank. Rough bearing is 260 or 250.
Trumanat and Tulakat are someplace around 290 or so, I think. Thinker and I were talking about it and he made a decision, but my email with the data is MIA.
The Depot with the K'treels is someplace behind us. Probably in sector 2.
(Someday this will be a navigation template. It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links. Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))
