Re:Relativistic Spaceship
by BHSPitMonkey on Monday February 05, 2024 @08:46PM
(#39269763)
Sure, if your probability distribution looks at every point in the universe equally. But we're talking about introducing error in a situation where you're _trying_ to drop yourself right next to a planet, so the areas nearest to your target have a much greater probability.
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The volume of space up to only geostationary orbit is about 177 times bigger than the volume of the earth.
Given that Star Trek's impulse drives are already traveling at up to around 0.9c, parking somewhere between the earth and the moon (which is about 1 light-second out), the ratio of space to volume of earth becomes 219,648.
That ratio growth with the cube of the distance to the planet.