Method for placing asteroid belts

[aegidian]

Code: Select all

addShipsWithinRadius: <role> <number> <coordinate-system> <x> <y> <z> <radius in metres>

eg.

Code: Select all

"addShipsWithinRadius: asteroid 48 wpm 0 0 15000 5000"

would add a 5km-wide asteroid field with 48 asteroids at a position roughly 15000m towards the planet from the witchpoint.

[Cholmondely]

Code: Select all

addShipsWithinRadius: <role> <number> <coordinate-system> <x> <y> <z> <radius in metres>

eg.

Code: Select all

"addShipsWithinRadius: asteroid 48 wpm 0 0 15000 5000"

would add a 5km-wide asteroid field with 48 asteroids at a position roughly 15000m towards the planet from the witchpoint.

How does one create a belt of asteroids orbiting the sun? Or orbiting a planet? Similar to what we see in reality...

I presume that the clumps of asteroids which we currently see in the vanilla game bear no resemblance to what actually exists - or am I wrong? These seem to only exist between the witchpoint beacon and the planet, or en-route to the sun, and nowhere else (unless some sort of mining station is present).

[Cody]

I presume that the clumps of asteroids which we currently see in the vanilla game bear no resemblance to what actually exists - or am I wrong?

You are not wrong!

Contrary to popular imagery, the asteroid belt is mostly empty. The asteroids are spread over such a large volume that reaching an asteroid without aiming carefully would be improbable. Nonetheless, hundreds of thousands of asteroids are currently known, and the total number ranges in the millions or more, depending on the lower size cutoff. Over 200 asteroids are known to be larger than 100 km, and a survey in the infrared wavelengths has shown that the asteroid belt has between 700,000 and 1.7 million asteroids with a diameter of 1 km or more. The absolute magnitudes of most of the known asteroids are between 11 and 19, with the median at about 16.

The total mass of the asteroid belt is estimated to be 2.39×1021 kg, which is just 3% of the mass of the Moon. The four largest objects, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea, account for maybe 62% of the belt's total mass, with 39% accounted for by Ceres alone.

[Cholmondely]

Just recalled:

Wonder if the code in Tetiri Planet Ring would be any use for creating Asteroid belts/planet rings.
Cim has asteroids at the Lagrange Points in SOTL exploration. He may possibly have real asteroid belts too...

Tetiri ring

[Cody]

Cim has asteroids at the Lagrange Points...

Home, home on Lagrange
Where the 'roids and the rock hermits play
Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word
And the skies are starry all day