"That's no moon..."

[Charles the Bald]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=520866131
Not a moon.

My theory goes like this

Let's science!

First of all, size does matter. Based on how high you can jump on Nirn we can surmise that Nirn is smaller than Earth - less gravity, higher jump. Either that or Nirn is not as dense as Earth. However, if Nirn was less dense there would be a metal shortage, and that is not the case.

Look at how big Secunda (the smaller one) is in the night sky. Now go outside and look at our moon. Secunda is around twice as big as our moon. So, either it's the same distance away and twice as big, or it's the same size, but only half the distance away (it could be 4 times as big and twice as far away as our moon, but then you're talking about a binary planet system, and that would fall apart when you re-introduce Masser into the mix).

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=259084910

If moon Secunda is twice as big, or half the distance, this would have effects on Nirn. First it would increase the speed the planet rotates (one could argue that the in-game day-night cycle is actually real time). Secondly, it would cause seismic activity, and the eruption of Red Mountain isn't enough. There are no earthquakes, let alone frequent earthquakes. Thirdly, a large or very close moon would cause extremely large tides. There are no tides on Nirn.

No tides means that Masser and Secunda are very, very far away. So, they must be very, very big. Masser is a rock planet the size of Jupiter (albeit, not very dense - otherwise it would shatter). If you've got one body the size of Jupiter, and another that's smaller than Earth, who gets to be the moon?

Nirn is a moon of Masser. A large moon that sustains life, but a moon nevertheless.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=260333446

Secunda always takes the same path across the sky, so it must be in the same orbital plane as Nirn (maybe a little closer to Masser, maybe a little further away, maybe it's in the same orbit as Nirn). If Secunda was in a different orbital plane, or if it was another planet there would be times when it would appear, from Nirn, to change direction and start going backwards.

So, Secunda is another planet sized body orbiting Masser.

Science FTW!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=537166029

[wingdings]

BUT HAY THAT'S JUST A THEEREE


A GAYME THEEEREEEE!!!11


THANX FR WATCHIIIIINGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111





also space doesnt exist in nirn the same way it does in the real world (if i'm incorrect, please correct me)

beyond nirn is aetherius. stars arent the balls of gas and fire they are IRL, they're actually holes punched into the sky by the gods as they fell from aetherius to nirn. i actually have no idea how the two moons fit into that, however.

[kdodds]

Someone needs more magic in their life... here, have a soul gem. :D

[Charles the Bald]

@The Man Who Speaks In Memes, people on Earth used to have similar stories about the origin of our universe and what the stars were, now we know better
@kdodds, thank you very much...unless it's a petty soul gem...in which case, gahh

[wingdings]

Originally posted by Charles the Bald:

@The Man Who Speaks In Memes, people on Earth used to have similar stories about the origin of our universe and what the stars were, now we know better

except in nirn's case, those stories are actually true.

just like how ancient civilizations believed in gods and magic out of ignorance, the people of nirn believe in gods and magic because they have had recorded, physical encounters with gods of all sorts and can wield magic themselves.

[kdodds]

@Charles, nah it's a Grand, but not Acquisitive, so it only has a Petty Soul.

@Memes, exactly, good point. It's kind of hard NOT to believe in "gods" after you've visited their domains, acquired their artifacts, and so forth.

Of course, nothing says the Daedra and Aedra are who they claim to be. They could very well be ancient remnants of more advanced civilizations and all or much of the TES universe could be explained by tech, biochemistry, and so on. That would, IMO, be the end of the series though.

[Frondson]

Haha thats awesome, a good read! I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[daemon04]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Someone needs more magic in their life... here, have a soul gem. :D

Needs more skooma! ;)

[Charles the Bald]

Originally posted by The Man Who Speaks In Memes:

Originally posted by Charles the Bald:

@The Man Who Speaks In Memes, people on Earth used to have similar stories about the origin of our universe and what the stars were, now we know better

except in nirn's case, those stories are actually true.

just like how ancient civilizations believed in gods and magic out of ignorance, the people of nirn believe in gods and magic because they have had recorded, physical encounters with gods of all sorts and can wield magic themselves.

True, gods exist in Nirn, but a. none of the current crop of gods existed when the universe was created, and b. all the books on the origins of the universe were written by people, and none of them actually quote gods. The gods themselves have nothing to say about the creation of, nor the nature of, the ES universe.

@Frondson, glad you liked it

[Survivor]

I'm still going to call it a moon because I'm to basic, but hey, at least I'm educated about objects in space above Nirn!

[DrNewcenstein]

Originally posted by Charles the Bald:

Based on how high you can jump on Nirn we can surmise that Nirn is smaller than Earth - less gravity, higher jump. Either that or Nirn is not as dense as Earth.

Stop right there. This is where "Science" always gets it wrong: it presumes to apply observations made on Earth to all planets and dictates that all possible humanoid life on those other planets will be relative to humanoid life on Earth i.e. life on larger planets with more mass would be gelatinous masses because the increased gravity would crush the bones of said humanoid life forms into dust instantly, leaving only meat, liquid, and fat, or that indigenous native life on planets with lower gravity than Earth would be able to fly through the air off a single jump, as witnessed by the Moon landing.

The reason these presumptions are stupid-wrong is precisely because they ignore the fact(!) that indigenous humanoid life (or any life) would develop within the confines of their home planet.

Meaning, Earthlings can jump twice as far and high on the Moon precisely (and simply) because the Moon has less gravity than Earth. Earthlings on Jupiter would be crushed into soup because of its higher gravity than Earth.

By simple pre-school logic, we can determine that Jovian life forms would not be crushed into soup by its gravity, but rather would develop in that environment and have the same limitations in Jupiter's gravity as Earthlings do on Earth. Their bone density would compensate for the difference. If they came to Earth, they'd be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and not break a leg on the return, assuming they did not launch themselves completely into space.

There are vents on the ocean floor that spew a chemical mixture that would kill humans and most life forms on Earth, even those in the nearby waters. However, there are life forms inside those vents who die as soon as they leave that environment, because the waters outside their native habitat are toxic to them.

By the same token, a life form that could breathe in Jupiter's atmosphere would suffocate on Earth.

Hence, the reason you can jump so high on Nirn is because you are conditioned to do so, just as Usain Bolt is conditioned to run as fast as he does, or the current standing high jump champ is conditioned to jump higher than anyone else on Earth.

Honestly, this is precisely why I never pursued a career in Science: I found too little common sense among those who held the title "Scientist", and who regurgitated this type of flagrant ignorance ad nauseum.

[Uncle64]

Why is this tread bumped?

[mpd1958]

Originally posted by Uncle64SwE:

Why is this tread bumped?

Because someone wanted to respond to the post with their opinion on the subject matter.

[Uncle64]

Originally posted by mpd1958:

Originally posted by Uncle64SwE:

Why is this tread bumped?

Because someone wanted to respond to the post with their opinion on the subject matter.

Assuming that.

[smr1957]

And someone else wanted to ramble on in a demonstration of their ignorance - cloaked in half-baked, uninformed, pseudo knowledge and excessive verbiage.

[mpd1958]

Say WHAAAAAAAAAT?