Super Mothership

Chapter 189 Lagrangian Points

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

When the third child was scaring the children, the eldest was holding a small red flag in his hand.

"Ahem! Good evening, all the grandpas and grandmas. This time, we are responsible for escorting all of you. Please maintain order and follow my small red flag when boarding the ship. Don't run around, if we lose anyone, I'll get my salary deducted! Thank you all for your cooperation..."

This familiar tour guide's opening remarks made everyone's mouth twitch. Looking around, except for seven or eight who could move easily, the rest were either in wheelchairs or on stretchers. I'd like to see them try to run!

"Hey! Lao Liang, these two people coming to pick us up don't look very reliable... Is this SOS organization really trustworthy?" One elderly man with white hair and wrinkles on his face said to the wine-nosed elderly man sitting next to him in a wheelchair.

"Lao Yu has confirmed it, should be no problem! Besides, with our old bones about to be buried, what can they do to us? With the knowledge in our heads, maybe they don't even see us as valuable."

Before departure, these scientists were given some information about the Ghost Captain and the SOS organization. Nobody could help but be impressed by the Ghost Captain's advanced technology; it was so different from this era's style!

"Yeah, after meeting Lao Yu, we'll know whether this is true or false..."

"Oh, they're here!" Just then, Old Da suddenly turned his head.

Under the moonlight, like a silver whale, slowly emerging from the water, everyone widened their eyes...

...

Earth's secret base.

"Lagrangian point?!" Nie Yun looked at the excited Lao Yu with confusion.

Immediately, information about the Lagrangian point appeared in his mind.

The Lagrangian points refer to certain special positions in space where the gravitational forces and centrifugal forces of two celestial bodies are balanced, allowing a third object to remain relatively stationary with respect to the first two.

For example, placing a satellite at a Lagrangian point in the Sun-Earth system would allow it to remain relatively stationary with respect to the Sun and Earth, making it suitable for stable observation activities.

The characteristics of Lagrangian points give them significant strategic value in the space age!

They require little to no fuel to maintain a stable orbit, and in the space age, with lower operational costs, they become ideal candidates for traffic hubs!

It's like Shanghai's natural strategic location, destined to be an important transportation hub in global trade!

"I hadn't considered this before. Indeed, this feature is perfect for placing surveillance devices!"

Although Nie Yun had a vast amount of astronomical data in his mind, he wasn't a professional astronomer, so there were still blind spots in his thinking!

He immediately began to rapidly analyze the possibility of alien probes existing at Lagrangian points...

Around a planet or a star, there are a total of five Lagrangian points. Taking the Sun-Earth system as an example, these five Lagrangian points are named L1 to L5.

L1 to L3 are located along the line connecting the two celestial bodies.

The first Lagrangian point, L1, is located between Earth and the Sun, about one million miles away from Earth.

Observing the Sun from L1 can be done without interference from gravity. It is currently occupied by humanity's "Solar and Heliospheric Observatory" (SOHO) and the "Deep Space Climate Observatory" (DSCOVR).

L2 is also located about one million miles away from Earth, but unlike L1, it is not between Earth and the Sun but lies along the Sun-Earth line extension.

Spacecraft placed at this position can observe Mars and even the entire deep space clearly since the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all behind it.

Currently, NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) is located at the L2 point, measuring the residual heat radiation from the Big Bang.

"The first two Lagrangian points have already been occupied by the probes from Europa and NASA, and these probes are very close to Earth. Recently, they were also included in the 'Solar System Surveillance Network' program, and their last names were changed to Nie. It's highly unlikely for alien probes to conduct espionage activities right under Nie Yun's nose, so we can essentially rule that out.

That leaves us with the third and fourth Lagrangian points, L3, which is located on the opposite side of Earth along the Sun-Earth line extension. If a probe is at L3, the difficulty of detecting Earth through star penetration would be extremely high, making it also unlikely.

So, we are left with L4 and L5!

They are situated on either side of Earth, where the line connecting the Sun and Earth intersects with Earth's orbit.

These two points are currently among Nie Yun's blind spots in detection!

"Hmm! Considering celestial kinematics, these are the most optimal positions where the probe could exist! I'm more inclined towards L4 and L5!" Lao Yu expressed a judgment similar to Nie Yun's.

"Um... However, considering the other party's technology may far surpass Earth's, we cannot exclude the possibility of other locations...

If they want to be extremely covert, this might be a passive probe, and for Earth as a fixed target, passive detection might be sufficient!

They might also have disguised its appearance, or even employed optical stealth!

Furthermore, if they cannot be detected by Earth's existing detection technology, their communication means are likely not traditional radio technology. It might be an extremely difficult to detect and highly secure method like laser communication or even more advanced quantum communication, beyond my knowledge..."

As Lao Yu spoke, he observed Nie Yun's expression.

He repeatedly used "the other party" in his words, and Nie Yun didn't show any objections, apparently accepting the existence of "the other party," which made Lao Yu more confident in his previous judgment.

Indeed, they weren't here to find a location for their probe! They were up against the boss... How exhilarating...

Nie Yun couldn't help but smile at Lao Yu's little scheme. However, sooner or later, he would let them know the truth. He didn't directly tell them now because even he knew very little about the B-star people, and the existence of the probe was still in question.

If he messed up in the end, it wouldn't be good for his boss's face, right!

Does this mean: ..."Oh dear, I made a mistake. It turns out I scared myself. How embarrassing..."

Well, that would significantly lower the prestigious image of the SOS organization!

"Well! You did a great job, and I'll send a probe to investigate those two locations. Regardless of the outcome, as a reward, all the exploration data from the Sea Wolf will be fully accessible to you!" Nie Yun smiled.

Lao Yu instantly became excited. For an astrophysicist like him, space observation data is the most precious thing!

However, he would soon find out that the exploration data from the Sea Wolf was not limited to Earth's orbit...

"By the way, your colleagues are almost here. As their leader and an old acquaintance, you should go and greet them before they arrive. It will also put their minds at ease.

Also, I'll arrange the genetic reversion surgery as soon as possible. You should get prepared for it." Nie Yun gave Lao Yu a meaningful glance.

"Hehe! Boss, don't worry, leave it to me!" Lao Yu grinned...

TL Note- Populizing Science. 

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