If the death star was coming into orbit around a planet, I think the least of its worries would be what time high tide would be
Yeah, even if a ship does have artificial gravity the pull of it shouldn't affect much, I have seen the formula to calculate how far it should be effective. However as you stated ships doesn't seem to be affected by the relatively small gravity field that has to be there meaning it doesn't really do much even close by. It would probably have helped a lot if it actually did have a stronger gravity field since it would make it all but impossible to fly near it without getting pulled in and that would make the hatches (which shouldn't be there) impossible safer.Lucane said:Whelp that's everything and more that I'd of said but as far as space magic goes I was thinking what ever is generating the Death Star's Artificial Gravity though I don't see how a system like that could influence something so far out that it could effect a nearby planet.Yopaz said:I am not a physicist nor a big Star Wars fan so I might not be right here.
I don't think it would have a lot to say for the tides. The Deah Star is big, but not as big as our moon, it's also hollow meaning that it doesn't have that much mass compared to the moon either. My guess is that if it does have any impact it will be minimal unless there's some space magic giving it a stronger gravity field.
Also Spacecraft never seem to have issues with gravity compensation when they near or depart from the Death Star.(Tractor Beams not included.)
"you can see here the Death Star orbiting the forest moon of Endor."DJ_DEnM said:I don't actually think the Death Star orbits anything, so I doubt it.
The Death Star, some 160 Kilometers in diameter, is still mostly empty space. While it is HUGE, the effects on the tides of say, Endor, would actually be minimal. That is because, while there is fucktons of Duralloy armor and stuff, in the end, it is mostly empty space at the core for the reactor, incredibly large hangar sections, living spaces for the million + crew members, and consumables storage. If a planet had NO MOON, yes, it would gain a tidal surge from the Death Star, but really, why would you orbit a planet anyway? Zip in, blow it up, zip back out. (Zip is used ironically).Lord Garnaat said:Alright all you science-inclined Escapists, I have a question that I've been rattling around in my mind for a while.
In the Star Wars movies the Death Star is supposed to be big. Really, really big. Big enough that it could be mistaken for a moon when it's near a planet. But when I thought about this, a rather interesting question sprang to mind: if the Death Star is large enough to be mistaken for a moon, would it affect the tides of a planet when it came close to it? I realize that tides are normally caused by the moon, so would the addition of a moon-sized object so close to a planet cause the normal patterns to get screwed up? Or would it be either too small or too far away to make a difference?
Yes, in the Alderaan system, right next to the Red Giant star we never see until the final scene. They MENTION traveling through hyperspace IN THE MOVIE.Daverson said:If it were the right kind of orbit around a planet, then yes. I don't think they ever specify exactly in the movies where the death star(s) were, exactly, though. I think they were in orbit of stars, rather than planets, though.
We never see the Death star go into hyperspace though, and the rebels seem close enough to launch an attack with what can be assumed to be short-range craft... the implication here is presumably that the Empire built their superweapon right next to the rebel base they spent the entire film looking for, and just didn't notice.
All of the Rebel "wings" are hyperspace capable and are long-range fighters/bombers/interceptors. The death star is also seen in the Alderaan system before the rebels sensors pick it up entering the Yavin system.Daverson said:If it were the right kind of orbit around a planet, then yes. I don't think they ever specify exactly in the movies where the death star(s) were, exactly, though. I think they were in orbit of stars, rather than planets, though.
We never see the Death star go into hyperspace though, and the rebels seem close enough to launch an attack with what can be assumed to be short-range craft... the implication here is presumably that the Empire built their superweapon right next to the rebel base they spent the entire film looking for, and just didn't notice.
It did have a strong enough gravitational pull to draw the Executor into it.Spade Lead said:snip
A-chemFasckira said:You should check this out: http://www.theforce.net/swtc/holocaust.html
Very good read about the aftermath of the second death start destruction and its affects on Endor!
Actually, no. The Executor spun out of control and DOVE into the SECOND Death Star, which was over twice the size of the first Death Star. The Executor was in no position to "Fall" into the Death Star, as it was actually cruising no where near the Death Star while engaging the rebels. The whole point of the Imperial fleet was to draw the rebels AWAY from the Death Star to lure them into it's engagement envelope. The Death Star has a range of 3 Million Kilometers. If the ships are 20 feet away, it won't be able to target them. It needed the space to crush the rebel capital ships. Executor went what we on the navigation team call NUC, Not Under Command. Usually, vessels NUC end up running aground, whether their engines are unable to be stopped, pushing them onto shoal waters, the helm is not responsive, causing them to travel in generally whatever direction the motors and rudder are steering when you lose command, or the engines die and the water pushes them aground. That is all that happened. She lost helm control and "Ran Aground" on the Death Star.artanis_neravar said:It did have a strong enough gravitational pull to draw the Executor into it.Spade Lead said:snip
Just awhile ago we were drowning in gender threads.CpT_x_Killsteal said:Not trying to be mean or anything but it seems like the threads are starting to get lazy. If only we had more gender and drowning threads...
Yeah, that kind of took me by surprise, too. Like, a LOT.Blue_vision said:EDIT: I see that the discussion has shifted towards the Second Death Star. My argument is invalid.
But Phobos is an ACTUAL moon, and thus High Density. The Death Star 2 would have been, at completion, still a very low density object, according to your calculations, only 1/100th the mass of Phobos. Not counting the implied probability of STAR DESTROYER Docking bays (a feature never shown in the first Death Star). That actually further reduces the mass of the station as a whole.Samantha Burt said:The original Death Star? Its technical specs list it as 1.9x10^13 kg. That's about a thousandth the mass of Phobos - really the most pathetic moon (its escape velocity is only about 28mph). The DS2 is about 10 times greater in diameter, so it could affect a small moon, such as Endor's, but it wasn't even finished, and the moon is largely lacking in surface water, anyway.