On Earth, the cardinal directions are straightforward. The arrow on a compass points to the nearest magnetic pole. You can then use it to travel anywhere on Earth.

In space, the idea of anything being "central" enough to be used as a "North" (since the universe has no center) or being fixated enough to not somehow pose issues is more convoluted.

If you were a pioneer of space exploration, what would your "North" be?

  • Washuchan@lemmy.ml
    ·
    48 minutes ago

    Cosmic background radiation provides a stable frame of reference for setting up a coordinate system. If the explorers have a main HQ base, it can be set as the origin (0,0,0). The location of an object in space can be communicated using a tuple like (10km, 30°, 30°), representing the radius (distance to the object), polar angle (angle between the positive z-axis and the line connecting the origin to the point), and azimuthal angle (angle between the positive x-axis and the line connecting the origin to the point on the xy-plane).

    Alternatively, if only a general region is needed, grid coordinates can be used with any useful unit of measurement for the distance between grid lines.

  • IHave69XiBucks@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    5 hours ago

    So i guess what your asking is what is the stationary point of reference that you use to calculate your position? You can use any object but typically you use whatever object your gravitationally bound to. Like in earth orbit you use earth, in interplanetary space you use the sun, in interstellar space it becomes more up to you. Center of galaxy maybe, or nearest star. Kinda depends what ur trying to do.