Green is Urth Redux

Jane Delawney · 12 Jan 2011, 01:18 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: jane_delawney at sky.com (Jane Delawney)
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:18:44 +0000
Subject: (urth) Green is Urth Redux
In-Reply-To: <7A30A616DF7B4BA48517CDD88EFEB25F@jill>
References: <878342.55384.qm at web161804.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
	<7A30A616DF7B4BA48517CDD88EFEB25F@jill>
Message-ID: <4D2D0174.4080100 at sky.com>

On 11/01/11 18:49, Gerry Quinn wrote:
>
> A satellite of a body is just something that orbits that body.  The 
> Moon is a satellite of Earth.
>
> As for the orbit of the Whorl, I don't think we know much about the 
> details of its orbit (or indeed the orbital details of Green and 
> Blue).  Perhaps it only comes close to Blue sometimes.  I don't know 
> that it matters,
>
> - Gerry Quinn
>

Have to say I think it possibly does matter when discussing Urth = 
Green/Blue or Lune = Green/Blue or whatever. To me there is one thing 
that stands out here and argues against any such direct identification, 
namely that it is clear in Short Sun that Green is *not* a satellite of 
Blue (or vice versa). They are both planets with a common primary (ie. 
sun).

If one were a satellite of the other, all that stuff in the text about 
regular conjunctions which allow inhumi to hazard the flight from one to 
the other would be just egregiously incorrect, and I don't believe a 
great SF writer like Wolfe would make such an error. A moon's orbit may 
be oblate rather than circular allowing for variations in distance from 
planet to satellite (our Moon's orbit is slightly oblate, it's closer to 
us at full moon than it is at new moon), but when the satellite is at 
its closest this isn't a conjunction; rather the term is perigee (when 
applied to the Earth-Moon system - if Green were a satellite of Blue or 
vice versa, presumably this would be a 'peri-Blue'. Or 'peri-Green' of 
course :) ).

Earth has 'conjunctions' with other planets of our solar system ie. 
times when they are on the same side of the sun as Earth and as close as 
possible to us as their orbits can make them (this is when space-probes 
are launched, generally, to reduce the journey time). If Green has a 
*conjunction* with Blue every six years, they are not revolving around 
each other but are each in a distinct orbit around their common sun.

The only way in which this could be explained in terms of Green = Urth 
and Blue = Lune (or vice versa) is if the Urth-Lune system had been 
terminally disrupted by the arrival of the White Fountain, flinging Lune 
into a separate orbit around the rejuvenated Sol.

Can't remember without the books to hand if there is a reference to Lune 
appearing in the sky of Ushas.

jd

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