Grex's Galactic Guides: Navigating Asteroid Fields · 4:06am Sep 6th, 2017
Hi guys, it's Grex! I'm here on behalf of your pals in the Rebel Alliance to talk to you all about one of the most notoriously-dangerous bodies in space: asteroid fields!
Haha, no, asteroid fields don't really look like that. They look like this!
Looks pretty dangerous, doesn't it? That picture's actually from the Maw, a spooky sector of space with a LOT of black holes, asteroids and other creepy stuff going on. And that's Wedge from Rogue Squadron flying that Y-Wing. He's a pretty cool guy.
Anyway, I know it looks tough but there's actually some tricks you can use to survive the exceedingly long odds of navigating an asteroid field.
1. Plan Ahead: Navigation is all about knowing where you're going and figuring out how to get there. In an asteroid field, that means plotting a route in an ever-changing environment. Being aware of all you can in that field is key; plot your course in increments and be aware of things you might need to change, places where you can deviate from your course and not fly into the path of an asteroid. Remember to always be ready to make course changes on the fly!
2. Avoid, Don't Dodge: Dodging is a great idea when there's one target flying at you. Not so much when there's hundreds or more, believe me, I know. When you dodge an asteroid by making a quick maneuver, you could wind up flying smack into another one. The easiest thing to do is to actually hug the asteroids you can by getting close to them. This makes it easier to avoid smashing into another one by mistake. Just make sure that the asteroid you're hugging is not on a collision course with another asteroid, or your ship could become a space pancake.
3. Pick Your Targets: The asteroids don't all move at the same speed. Some of them are fast, some of them are slow, and some don't move very much at all but rotate really fast. Now, if you're looking to hug an asteroid to make things easier, it's tempting to pick ones that aren't moving very much, but you have to be careful. The rotating ones might be oddly-shaped, and one of their longer sides might rotate right into the middle of your flight path and impale your ship! Instead, pick a slow-moving asteroid that ISN'T rotating much and follow it if you can. It can clear a little bit of a path sometime and allow you to fly right through- let the asteroid smash into another one for you! But don't be too close if it's about to hit another one!
4. Don't Get Lost: Do your best to keep your heading. It can be easy to get lost in asteroid fields or separated from your group. And there's not usually a way to tell where you're going if you lose your way, so it's important to keep on your course. Do your best to keep moving towards your destination and remember that space is a three-dimensional... space, so sometimes flying up or down and out the belt or field can help you avoid a lot of the danger.
5. Use Weapons and Tools Wisely: So let's say you're me and you're flying a Y-Wing. You've got a lot of different weapons at your disposal, so why spare them now? Multiplication, that's why. You start using your lasers, proton torpedoes and ion cannons to start blasting these asteroids, you stand to turn many asteroids into MANY MORE ASTEROIDS. More and smaller asteroids that can collide and break off pieces of OTHER asteroids and send them spinning your way, or in the way of your wingmates! It's like flying through a minefield when a single mine can trigger the whole thing! Keep those weapons ready, though, because if you get in a tight spot, you might have to shoot your way out.
Bonus round time! Now, for those of you who saw Guardians of The Galaxy: Vol. 2, you saw a whole new type of asteroid field: the QUANTUM asteroid field! According to Drax, you'd have to be the "greatest pilot in the universe" in order to get through one of these:
But really, Quill and Rocket piloted their ship pretty easily and they even had a guy behind them for quite some time. And if you noticed, the rest of that Sovereign fleet just went around it, which is why I put that part about going around the field as part of Step Four. So how did these guys get through a quantum asteroid field so easily? Well, here's how!
Now, as its name suggests, quantum asteroid fields don't exactly follow the regular physical rules of asteroids; they pop in and out of existence. It's like they're teleporting asteroids, popping up wherever they feel like it. But actually, that's what makes them so easy: quantum asteroids are predictable!
The main thing about navigating an asteroid field is identifying the asteroids and knowing where they're going so you can get around them. With QUANTUM asteroid fields, it's even easier because they just boop somewhere and then boop back. The trick is to fly where the quantum asteroids are now and time it so they warp right when you fly through. And then, you quickly pick the nearest quantum asteroid next and fly towards it. It jumps, you fly through, and onto the next. That's all there is to it: just keep heading for the closest quantum asteroids on your course and aim right for them when they disappear. Keep it up and you'll be the greatest pilot in the universe! At least, according to Drax!
So, there you have it. Use these tricks and you can get through an asteroid field like it's a field of crops. I'm Grex Corsa for Grex's Galactic Guides reminding you all to keep it frosty and fly friendly! Until next time, everybody!
quantum asteroids? Baro, please
4659891
Barro* And it wasn't my idea.
Good ol' astroids.
Sounds like a lot of his advice is similar to the way smart drivers ride in the backwash of a speeding fire engine to get through traffic.
4660434
Pretty much, yeah. It's a similar principle.
No. Mention of the fact that asteroids are basically a non issue in space because:
1) Space is 3-dimensional and with most interstellar rocket engines it wouldn't be a serious issue to go around them (since they tend to be, like all starbound objects, stuck in the orbital plane
2) asteroid fields are dense for space, but given how big space is you might only ever see a single asteroid up close in your travels through an asteroid field, and if you lived in the belt you might never ever see another one up close
3) Asteroids are slow. And the don't change direction. And are generally in really boring parts of space. And small. Most asteroids are kinda small. We've got a catalog of all the really big ones but there are millions of tiny asteroids that we can't easily see but we know are there (tiny as in, maybe car sized and smaller). How do you dodge something too small for your ship sensors to see?
Anyways, this was an interesting read. If I ever find myself in a galaxy far far away where they have random asteroid fields in the middle of space with no stars or any other junk nearby, I'll be sure to remember this guide and follow the advice
4701473
It's more of a guide for asteroid fields like the ones seen in the pictures. Fictional asteroid fields.
4701516
I know. I was just prodding you for being so thorough and yet not pointing out reality. Done totally in jest