14 November, 2012
Here’s parts one and two of the “web series”/pilot/whateverthehell it is. Points I particularly liked: The layout of the hanger bay is a bi more functional than the static set was, and I loved that there is a kind of high-speed tram to get around a vessel that’s a mile long. CIC looks good, despite being mostly a virtual set, something they’re disguising with lens flare and high contrast for the background.
Part 2:
5 November, 2012
Apparently, Universal finally got off their butts and are releasing Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome first online this Friday in installments, then on SciFi (I refuse to call it SyFy) and then on DVD.
3 March, 2011
I received my Quantum Mechanix Twelve Colonies of Kobol map on Friday, and I have to say, it is easily up to the quality of the Map of the ‘Verse that the same company released a few years back. It is a single-sided print, showing the a quaternary system — Helios Alpha through Gamma — and the various worlds of the Battlestar Galactica (reboot) setting.
The map has a very crisp print quality, the typeface is easy to read (I can almost make out the small type standing about 2 meters from the map. It has a short description of each world, salient bits of information like the capital city, the nickname of the world, the patron god. There are short blurbs on the map that deal with the non-inhabited or minor worlds of the colonies, as well dealing with the astrophysics of some of the orbital groups, and distances between the worlds, the stars they orbit, etc. There is a small size comparison of the worlds in the lower right corner, similar to that done on the ‘Verse map.
All of the respective star systems appear to be roughly contained within the orbit of Jupiter, with the Helios Alpha system looking closest to the Solar system — with Picon in the Venusian position (.7SU), Caprica/Gemenon with their barycenter at the 1SU (~AU) orbit, and Tauron (1.2-1.3SUs). Using a ruler and assuming the orbits in all of the stellar systems are on the same scale, 1SU is 4″ and seems to be the equivalent of an AU (8 light minutes.)
Using that, Leonis is at .6SU from it’s star, Virgon at 1.7SU with a smaller star; Canceron and Arelon at 1.6SU from their duller, cooler star and Aquaria at about 2SU with a sharply inclined orbit. Scorpia at 1.4SU, Sagitarron at 2SU, and Libran at 1.75SU with an orbit sharply off the plane of ecliptic.
There’s been a lot of whinging about the scientific accuracy of the map, but I’d point out 1) it’s FICTION, 2) in keeping with the supernatural elements of the show, it could be the Colonies were created for Man to settle and thrive…until they met with His wrath, 3) new exoplanetary research is showing that baricentric orbits are possible, and some of the orbital mechanics in the systems we’ve seen are pushing the boundaries of our theories regarding how solar systems form. We don’t have the rule book, it seems.
It’s $14 and worth the cost if you’re a BSG fan.
The Black Campbell 