Has the orbit of Triaxus changed?

[David knott 242]

The map of the Pact Worlds system shows a roughly circular orbit for all of the planets including Triaxus. In the Pathfinder setting, Triaxus had a highly elliptical orbit that should have crossed the orbits of several other planets between summer and winter. However, the Pact Worlds System map shows an orbit for Triaxus that does not cross the orbits of any other planets.

So -- is the Pact Worlds System map in error, or did some forgotten event during the Gap alter the orbit of Triaxus?

[Luke Spencer]

I'm pretty sure the map isn't accurate. I might be wrong but I got the impression that the map is designed to show what planets exist in the solar system rather than an accurate representation of the layout of the planets themselves, otherwise the map would be huge and you'd barely be able to see some of them.

[The Gold Sovereign]

I'm not sure about the layout, but I guess that isn't the accurate orbit of the planets.

[David knott 242]

I know that the map isn't to scale -- but most similar diagrams of our own solar system in the late 20th century made a point of showing that the orbits of Neptune and Pluto crossed, especially since Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune then.

In the case of Triaxus, I was curious as to why Paizo picked the particular orbital location that they did -- but the answer became more obvious when I looked at the corresponding maps in Distant Worlds and People of the Stars, both of which showed the orbit of Triaxus in the same location and with the same lack of eccentricity.

I guess I mistakenly assumed that we would see a more accurate representation of Triaxus in a setting where that planet has become relatively easy for player characters to visit.

[Umbral Reaver]

They put giant thrusters on it to correct its orbit.

[Aqua Zesty Man]

Planetary orbits don't increase in radius incrementally. That is, the fifth planet's orbit would not necessarily be five times the size of the orbit of the first.

Orbital resonance between planets ensures that the further out you go from the central sun, the more distance there needs to be between neighboring planets if they are to have stable orbits.

If Triaxus has an eccentric orbit as we assume it would have for its seasonal changes, its orbit would need to be in resonance with its planetary neighbors so that neither planet pulls the other out of its stable orbit around the central sun (at least on the time scale of intelligent life and advanced civilizations developing on said planets). Given enough time, all planetary orbits will fail.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stability_of_the_Solar_System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future

A "solar system map" should be considered as representing the sequential order of the planets of a system. If Triaxus is presented as circling between Eox and Liavara, then Eox's orbit most likely falls entirely within Triaxus' orbit, and Liavara's orbit (probably) encompasses Triaxus' orbit, but they wouldn't be of equal distance apart nor comparable of the distance between (say) Aballon and Castrovel, or Absalom Station and Akiton.

[David knott 242]

According to Distant Worlds, Triaxus in winter is farther out than the gas giants. There does not seem to be any definite statement in regard to the closest approach of Triaxus to the sun in summer.

Also, there are the rather obvious physics violations of Triaxus having by far the longest year of any planet as well as its summers and winters being of the same lengths.

[Distant Scholar]

Which Pact Worlds system map are you referring to?

[Charabdos, The Tidal King]

The one on the blog, I assume.

[Distant Scholar]

That would be the blog I hadn't seen until after I posted. :-)

[The Gold Sovereign]

Well... I'm really looking forward to a preview of Triaxus, for I'm curious to how much has technology affected it and it's alien seasons. Maybe we will get some answers regarding its orbit.

[Steelfiredragon]

and it may be something like" the Golarion Scholars of old got it wrong. they just forgot about it during the gap

[Fardragon]

We haven't had any official previews on Triaxus for Starfinder, have we? So it might have changed.

[QuidEst]

All the orbits have changed; the gods removed a planet from the solar system.

[IonutRO]

Yeah, unless Absalom Station's mass is the same as Earth's (Highly unlikely) then the orbit of everything would've shifted. Even if it is the same as Earth's, then it means that at one point an Earth equivalent mass was added to the system on top of what was already there, and then another Earth equivalent mass got removed from the system. That's a double whammy of changing orbits.

[Franz Lunzer]

IonutRO wrote:

Yeah, unless Absalom Station's mass is the same as Earth's (Highly unlikely) then the orbit of everything would've shifted. Even if it is the same as Earth's, then it means that at one point an Earth equivalent mass was added to the system on top of what was already there, and then another Earth equivalent mass got removed from the system. That's a double whammy of changing orbits.

... divine magic. no whammy. You're welcome.

[IonutRO]

Then what's the point of anything?

[Skeld]

The "science" of science fiction / science fantasy is nonsense.

-Skeld

[Mashallah]

IonutRO wrote:

Yeah, unless Absalom Station's mass is the same as Earth's (Highly unlikely) then the orbit of everything would've shifted. Even if it is the same as Earth's, then it means that at one point an Earth equivalent mass was added to the system on top of what was already there, and then another Earth equivalent mass got removed from the system. That's a double whammy of changing orbits.

I'd like to point out:

Earth's mass is utterly negligible in our Solar System.
If earth suddenly disappeared, the only orbit that would have been meaningfully affected is the Moon's.