From the article archive
Writing Practice, Nov. 13th 2001
News:
Ki wasn't worked on today. I've come down with a cold. Rough voice, stuffy head, achy body. Loads of fun. So it's on to the essay.
Essay:
The Oct. Scientific American had an article dealing with our galaxy. According to the article there's a zone in which live can exist. Outside that zone life is, effectively, impossible.
Why, you may ask.
Closer to the core the stars are closer together. This means higher levels of radiation, and a more turbulent environment. Conditions are just not right for planetary formation. Further out the stars are not the right kind for supporting life, having inhabitable zones so small it's quite unlikely a planet would form in it.
Put's a whole new light on galactic empires, don't it?
It also puts a whole new light on interstellar travel. With all that 'business' going on in the core travel through it is going to be perilous in the extreme. Unless extraordinary efforts are taken to protect a craft the crew is going to be fried. And such efforts will likely be very expensive where they are possible at all.
Then you have the (possible) black hole at the center of our galaxy.
Well, if you can't go through you'll have to go around.
That fact is going to shape galactic civilizations. Empires on opposite sides of a galaxy may not know about each other. Too far away, and it would take too much effort to go to the other side. A galaxy spanning civilization would most likely inhabited the galactic 'life ring' with research stations in the outskirts of the core, and the outer environs. To get from one side to the other would take a trip using a route that goes above or below the core.
So how do you see galactic civilization developing with the galactic core as a roadblock?
There's more I could write on this subject. But I'll save an idea I've just had for a later essay.
Things to Come:
More news, another essay, maybe a stray thought or two. Feedback is welcome. You can post on the forums or email me at: mythusmage@cts.com. Till next time.
Ki wasn't worked on today. I've come down with a cold. Rough voice, stuffy head, achy body. Loads of fun. So it's on to the essay.
Essay:
The Oct. Scientific American had an article dealing with our galaxy. According to the article there's a zone in which live can exist. Outside that zone life is, effectively, impossible.
Why, you may ask.
Closer to the core the stars are closer together. This means higher levels of radiation, and a more turbulent environment. Conditions are just not right for planetary formation. Further out the stars are not the right kind for supporting life, having inhabitable zones so small it's quite unlikely a planet would form in it.
Put's a whole new light on galactic empires, don't it?
It also puts a whole new light on interstellar travel. With all that 'business' going on in the core travel through it is going to be perilous in the extreme. Unless extraordinary efforts are taken to protect a craft the crew is going to be fried. And such efforts will likely be very expensive where they are possible at all.
Then you have the (possible) black hole at the center of our galaxy.
Well, if you can't go through you'll have to go around.
That fact is going to shape galactic civilizations. Empires on opposite sides of a galaxy may not know about each other. Too far away, and it would take too much effort to go to the other side. A galaxy spanning civilization would most likely inhabited the galactic 'life ring' with research stations in the outskirts of the core, and the outer environs. To get from one side to the other would take a trip using a route that goes above or below the core.
So how do you see galactic civilization developing with the galactic core as a roadblock?
There's more I could write on this subject. But I'll save an idea I've just had for a later essay.
Things to Come:
More news, another essay, maybe a stray thought or two. Feedback is welcome. You can post on the forums or email me at: mythusmage@cts.com. Till next time.
Recovered from the Gaming Outpost database backup. Original wording is preserved; damaged punctuation and presentation markup have been repaired. Historical links without a local match point to the Internet Archive.