Slipstream space: Difference between revisions
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m (Figures were reached using the program Celestia) |
(I'd still have preferred it if they'd just said the Halo universe version of Epsilon Indi is located further away than the real one. Or retconned Harvest into a different system altogether.) |
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The plotting of slipspace jumps is known as [[astrogation]], and is typically performed by a [[navigation computer]] or an [[artificial intelligence|AI]],<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 96''</ref> although humans are capable of conducting at least some of the calculations involved.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 426''</ref> The trajectory of a slipspace jump is already determined by the time the ship enters slipspace; thus, pursuing ships are able to follow the ship which made the transition. This also enables the pursuers, provided they are equipped with superior drives, to overtake the ship they were following through "slipspace supersession"; this occurred when the Covenant [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] followed {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} to [[Installation 04]], allowing the Covenant ships to arrive long before the human vessel.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''' (2010), ''[[Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit]]''</ref> | The plotting of slipspace jumps is known as [[astrogation]], and is typically performed by a [[navigation computer]] or an [[artificial intelligence|AI]],<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 96''</ref> although humans are capable of conducting at least some of the calculations involved.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 426''</ref> The trajectory of a slipspace jump is already determined by the time the ship enters slipspace; thus, pursuing ships are able to follow the ship which made the transition. This also enables the pursuers, provided they are equipped with superior drives, to overtake the ship they were following through "slipspace supersession"; this occurred when the Covenant [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] followed {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} to [[Installation 04]], allowing the Covenant ships to arrive long before the human vessel.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''' (2010), ''[[Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit]]''</ref> | ||
In addition to having to deal with temporal anomalies, UNSC ships are not able to jump with exact precision. A ship may transition back to normal space millions of kilometers from its intended destination.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 136''</ref> As a result, UNSC ships often transition in and out of slipspace far from any gravity wells of celestial bodies. In-system jumps are also generally considered impractical, even dangerous, by the UNSC due to this lack of precision.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 104''</ref> A notable exception of this is during the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]], when the [[UNSC Battle Group India|Battle Group India]], under command of [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole]], performed an in-system jump. Even though Cole had made thorough calculations for the jump a week in advance and [[Slipspace guidance beacon|guidance beacons]] were used as navigational assists, a part of the battle group scattered, reappearing outside the main group.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 477''</ref> | In addition to having to deal with temporal anomalies, UNSC ships are not able to jump with exact precision. A ship may transition back to normal space millions of kilometers from its intended destination.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 136''</ref> As a result, UNSC ships often transition in and out of slipspace far from any gravity wells of celestial bodies. In-system jumps are also generally considered impractical, even dangerous, by the UNSC due to this lack of precision.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 104''</ref> A notable exception of this is during the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]], when the [[UNSC Battle Group India|Battle Group India]], under command of [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole]], performed an in-system jump. Even though Cole had made thorough calculations for the jump a week in advance and [[Slipspace guidance beacon|guidance beacons]] were used as navigational assists, a part of the battle group scattered, reappearing outside the main group.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 477''</ref> | ||
The [[Gravemind]] was able to use the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} to make a successful precision jump into ''[[High Charity]]''. This may be due to an improvement on the ship due to the recent capture of Covenant Slipspace technology, the Gravemind adjusting it or possibly using [[Installation 05]]'s [[teleportation grid]] or related systems to move the ship.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref> Cortana was able to jump the Covenant flagship ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' into slipspace inside the atmosphere of the gas giant [[Threshold]] following the [[Battle of Installation 04]], a feat previously thought impossible even by the Covenant.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 80, 87''</ref> Following the Human-Covenant War, a number of UNSC ships, such as the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, have been fitted with Forerunner drive technology, granting them near-perfect jump accuracy in addition to far greater velocities.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 247''</ref> | The [[Gravemind]] was able to use the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} to make a successful precision jump into ''[[High Charity]]''. This may be due to an improvement on the ship due to the recent capture of Covenant Slipspace technology, the Gravemind adjusting it or possibly using [[Installation 05]]'s [[teleportation grid]] or related systems to move the ship.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref> Cortana was able to jump the Covenant flagship ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' into slipspace inside the atmosphere of the gas giant [[Threshold]] following the [[Battle of Installation 04]], a feat previously thought impossible even by the Covenant.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 80, 87''</ref> Following the Human-Covenant War, a number of UNSC ships, such as the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, have been fitted with Forerunner drive technology, granting them near-perfect jump accuracy in addition to far greater velocities.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 247''</ref> | ||
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However fast it may appear, human faster-than-light travel is by no means instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more for the crew. Certain UNSC ships are known to be able to travel at a speed of 2.625 light years per day,<ref group="note">In ''Halo: First Strike'', Lieutenant [[Wagner]]'s [[prowler]] traveled from [[Reach]] to [[Earth]]—a distance of 10.5 light years—in four days. Velocity=Distance/time (V=10.5 light years/4 days=2.625 l/d)</ref> while Covenant ships can reach 912 light years per day.<ref group="note">In ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', the Covenant destroyer ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' travels from Earth to [[Onyx]] within a single day. The distance from [[Sol system|Sol]] to [[Zeta Doradus]] is 38 light years. Velocity=Distance/time (V=38 light years/1 hour=38 l/h or 912 l/d)</ref> After the end of the Human-Covenant War, the discovery and reverse-engineering of Forerunner technologies allowed humanity to achieve significantly greater velocities. By early [[2553]], the {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}} and {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} had been equipped with upgraded drives which enabled them to cross interstellar distances in mere hours.<ref>''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 68''</ref><ref name="ttw247"/> | However fast it may appear, human faster-than-light travel is by no means instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more for the crew. Certain UNSC ships are known to be able to travel at a speed of 2.625 light years per day,<ref group="note">In ''Halo: First Strike'', Lieutenant [[Wagner]]'s [[prowler]] traveled from [[Reach]] to [[Earth]]—a distance of 10.5 light years—in four days. Velocity=Distance/time (V=10.5 light years/4 days=2.625 l/d)</ref> while Covenant ships can reach 912 light years per day.<ref group="note">In ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', the Covenant destroyer ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' travels from Earth to [[Onyx]] within a single day. The distance from [[Sol system|Sol]] to [[Zeta Doradus]] is 38 light years. Velocity=Distance/time (V=38 light years/1 hour=38 l/h or 912 l/d)</ref> After the end of the Human-Covenant War, the discovery and reverse-engineering of Forerunner technologies allowed humanity to achieve significantly greater velocities. By early [[2553]], the {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}} and {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} had been equipped with upgraded drives which enabled them to cross interstellar distances in mere hours.<ref>''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 68''</ref><ref name="ttw247"/> | ||
Further complicating matters is that transit times between different star systems are not consistent. While [[Epsilon Indi]] is only approximately 12 lightyears from Earth, and 83.3 lightyears from [[23 Librae]], [[Madrigal]] is described as the "closest" colony to [[Harvest]], at only a few weeks transit time for a pre-war [[DCS light freighter|human freighter]], as opposed to just over two months to the much closer [[Epsilon Eridani system]] which lies only 14 lightyears from Epsilon Indi. These discrepancies are due to the fact the internal topology of slipstream space differs from that of normal space in certain areas, sometimes resulting in major inconsistencies in the distances traveled.<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969317_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969317 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2969317)]</ref> | |||
One example of the differences between speeds is comparing the Covenant cruiser ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' with the UNSC [[Halcyon-class cruiser|''Halcyon''-class cruiser]] {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. It took several weeks for the ''Pillar of Autumn'' to get from [[Reach]] to [[Installation 04]], yet the ''Ascendant Justice'' could get from Installation 04 to Reach within thirteen hours from the occupants' frame of reference. However, this may have been due to the influence of the [[Forerunner crystal]], which simultaneously caused the ''Ascendant Justice'' to go back in time for several days as a result of its occupants being on an event path intersecting the crystal.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 247-248'' (2003 edition)</ref> | One example of the differences between speeds is comparing the Covenant cruiser ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' with the UNSC [[Halcyon-class cruiser|''Halcyon''-class cruiser]] {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. It took several weeks for the ''Pillar of Autumn'' to get from [[Reach]] to [[Installation 04]], yet the ''Ascendant Justice'' could get from Installation 04 to Reach within thirteen hours from the occupants' frame of reference. However, this may have been due to the influence of the [[Forerunner crystal]], which simultaneously caused the ''Ascendant Justice'' to go back in time for several days as a result of its occupants being on an event path intersecting the crystal.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 247-248'' (2003 edition)</ref> | ||
