Re: Dan's April Editorial
Posted: April 20, 2017, 12:06:43 AM
Nice post, Cary.
The problem never goes away, either, because nothing stays put. Say that you had a magical propulsion system that would take you instantaneously any distance. You line up your ship with a target and hit the button ... you might get close, but then again, you might get utterly lost, because the light-source you're aiming at isn't there any more; it's somewhere else.
It's harder yet because our measurements are really crude by cosmic standards. I'm guessing that the surest way would be to make short jumps and take fresh readings. After a few of these, you might have enough information to extrapolate the final position of the target--providing you could get enough decimal places in your calculations.
Am I doing it right?
The problem never goes away, either, because nothing stays put. Say that you had a magical propulsion system that would take you instantaneously any distance. You line up your ship with a target and hit the button ... you might get close, but then again, you might get utterly lost, because the light-source you're aiming at isn't there any more; it's somewhere else.
It's harder yet because our measurements are really crude by cosmic standards. I'm guessing that the surest way would be to make short jumps and take fresh readings. After a few of these, you might have enough information to extrapolate the final position of the target--providing you could get enough decimal places in your calculations.
Am I doing it right?