Newcomer / Intro Bug, Feature or undiscovered star?

[Klaas Metzel]

Hi Cmdrs.

I came across this now a few times already, but I cannot figure it out. Planets with no star to orbit according to the map. Is this an issue/bug with the system map maybe, or could that mean there is even an undiscovered body still in this system?

Thanks and have a good weekend.

 

[Skürt Avil]

There's more than one star in the system and those planets are orbiting the lagrange point of the two, I think. Look on the Orery view, it may give you a better visualiasion.

 

[Klaas Metzel]

There's more than one star in the system and those planets are orbiting the lagrange point of the two, I think. Look on the Orery view, it may give you a better visualiasion.

Thanks, and that is fascinating. It makes sense now, and the orbit view helped a lot.

 

[Skürt Avil]

Actually, I think they're in a Barycentric orbit. If they were at a Lagrange point, they wouldn't orbit anything.
Obviously, I could be wrong on the science terminology, but there's plenty of Cmdrs who could explain it better than I.

 

[Codger]

The X also marks where you will enter the system, and all of the "Distance To" calcs are from that point.

 

[Klaas Metzel]

Wow thanks for all this information. Good to know that.

 

[aRJay]

Two of the ringed planets in that image are linked by a line above their centres, that shows they are orbiting the Barycentre of the two bodies while that Barycentre orbits around the star or in this case the Barycentre of the stars in the system. A couple of the moons are doing the same sort of thing.

 

[finglonger]

if theres one person in the universe who the world revolves around its got to be Bar(r)y

yes Bar(r)y, hes a pretty boring bloke really, a dud when it comes to parties or social gatherings, but he makes for some interesting orbital mechanics..
everybody wants to avoid Bar(r)y

 

[GJ51]

A bary good explanation

Now try Noriega Port in Arare

 

[Sapyx]

Now try Noriega Port in Arare

Stealing the picture from this old thread on the subject:

Since there is literally nothing else except asteroids in the Arare system other than Noriega Port and the star Arare itself, it can't be orbiting a barycentre of anything, nor be in some kind of Lagrangian orbit. Noriega Port is therefore clearly orbiting a comet. You can't see the comet, because comets are still invisible in ED, but it's there. A few months after that 2017 post I linked to above was made, people first found direct in-game evidence of the existence of a comet at the central point of the orbit, in Pareco, another system where "space stations orbit nothing". Ye olde Thread with ye evidence.

 

[varonica]

Actually, I think they're in a Barycentric orbit. If they were at a Lagrange point, they wouldn't orbit anything.
Obviously, I could be wrong on the science terminology, but there's plenty of Cmdrs who could explain it better than I.

Lagrange points are points of gravitational balance in a system created by an orbiting body. The Earth moon system for instance looks like this, all objects in lagrange points are still orbiting other objects;

Planets in orbit around stars also have lagrange points, but as mentioned this is a barycentre orbit where two or more objects are in orbit around a common center of gravity. Keeping in mind that all objects that are in orbit are actually in orbit around a common center of gravity, but a barycenter is in particular where that center of gravity is outside the surface of all objects. Objects that orbit where the center of gravity is below the surface of the larger body are usually called moons, objects where that center or gravity is outside both bodies are normally referred to as Binary/Trinary etc systems.

So Moon;

Pluto and Charon, techically not a moon but a binary companion;

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF8-DP1PWmk