• FuglyDuck
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      5 hours ago

      So the reason the moon has a curved path is because of the earth’s gravity. Its velocity relative to earth is high enough that as the earth pulls the moon at 9.8 m/s2, it misses the earth entirely. This pulls the moon into a circular trajectory, and that’s what we call an orbit.

      Big ships in Star Wars are not “in orbit” in this sense. They’re relying on technobabble and dohickeys to stay up in the sky- above a specific part of the planet.

      So when those engines stop providing power, they fa ll to the planet.

      • SchmidtGenetics
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        5 hours ago

        Also, a lot of battles are taking place as ships come out of hyperspace in relation to the gravity well, so they are accelerating across or into the planet. They aren’t even in “orbit” at all.

        Yes they don’t decelerate, but that’s an entire other thing.

        • FuglyDuck
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          4 hours ago

          I always envision that they’re burning velocity while in hyperspace to come out in a zero-zero rendezvous with whatever they’re meeting so that they come out “just right”

          My head cannon is that the hyperdrive is like sliding into a blister on the edge of space and the drive is pushing that blister. Your momentum is preserved, start and stop but you can shift it so you’re always coming out “stopped” or advancing at a useful direction.

          (Otherwise we’d see them making long-ass RV burns.)

    • PattyMcB
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      5 hours ago

      That’s no moon

      (I see what you did there)