Remember all those moonshots in the 1970s? I recall from first grade class that the capsules would land in the ocean near the equator because the pull of Earth’s gravity attracts celestial objects toward the equator. Remembering that got me to thinking…
Let’s assume for the moment that there are little green men out there (or any kind of person at all) who have a starship capable of getting from a distant solar system or galaxy to ours. Assume also they know nothing of the geo-political situation and have no knowledge of how our global society is broken up into varying nations. Perhaps they have scanners that can tell them where large concentrations of the human population are located, but not (for instance) that the United States is a more significant world-power than, say, Liechtenstein.
Where would this ship choose to land? How would conditions such as gravity and the weather effect the choice of a landing pod destination?
Maybe central Asia, i.e. the steppes? It’s relatively flat land in the middle of the largest land mass. Or perhaps Antarctica, right on or near the South Pole? If they can travel across the galazy, I don’t imagine a little cold and wind will faze them.
Depends…Do they want to be noticed? If they do probably somewhere in Asia because of the population they will assume its the best place to make an appearance. But any society with that kind of technology will be able to tell the US is a world power.
I think, assuming they want to be seen and make contact and that their hazard suits aren’t more suited for one habitat vs. another i.e tropical vs. ice vs. desert. I think they would look at population density and development and you might very well get something … Belgiumish
Either here or here - It depends if it’s a Gray or something we haven’t met before.
The first, in China, looks like a nice flat secluded area visible from quite a distance and without much life. It’d probably be my first stop, just to check the place out before trying to make contact.
The second is, I’m told, quite popular with the Gray’s :rolleyes:
It may have but there is no reason to believe that is the case. We know so litle about the origin of life that we are just guessing where on Earth it arose, or even if it arose on Earth at all. Amongst those who accept a terrestrial origin the best guesses at the moment are for a freshwater origin, rather than oceanic.
More importantly all the biggest jumps in evolutionary history:eukaryotes, multicelluraity, tetrapods, terrestrial life, etc. seem to have occured in freshwater. If you were looking for advanced life you would be better off looking at freshwater.
More importantly it is very unlikly that intelligent life would evolve in the ocean and as far as we can tell impossible for advanced civilisations. The first is because the ocean is a very stable environment which militates against intelligence as a survival trait. The second is ismply because fire doesn’t burn under water. Without fire you are stuck at Neolithioc technology at best
According to the OP the do know we are sapient.
As for where they would land, that woudl depend mor eon their own physiology than on gravity. If you can hurl a lump of metal between stars then the gravity well of a planet would be an inconvenience at best.
What might be harder to overcome is inherent physiology. If these things are landing then presumably they want to leave the vessel, otherwise there is no point landing anywhere. If they want to leave the vessel then they will presumably select those environments that are least stressful so they can minimise risk. Since their imherent physiology coud call for freezing cold, total darkness, blazing heat, high humidity and a billion other factors they could equally select the Amazon, Death Valley, the Himalayas or Antarctica.
And I suppose you’re going to tell us that you’re not a power-mad big-eyed androgynous creepy from another planet? Sure…
Family has some land in Melby Ranch, haven’t been down there in a while, but heard someone had built a UFO watchtower doohickey in the area (NW of there a ways, but I don’t know exactly where)
Capsules splashdown relatively close to the equator (with in about 30 degrees in either direction) because that is where the Earth’s surface is moving the fastest, and therefore the spacecraft requires the least amount of deceleration, which is desireable when descending from a Earth-injection profile in a blunt-body capsule with minimal guidance capability, as it reduces the amount of time in which errors can compound. One of the prime item development specifications for the STS/Space Shuttle was that it would be capable of sufficent cross-range–the ability to adjust its descent trajector by translating lift into lateral speed–such that it could perform a single polar orbit launch-and-return-to-site maneuver, allowing the STS to be launched out of the infamous Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6 or “Slick Six”) at Vandenberg AFB, deploy a military satellite or payload, and return to land at nearby Edwards AFB for refurbishment and flight transport to VAFB. This never happened, of course, but the Shuttle was designed for it.
As for aliens, I think any civilization capable of crossing interstellar space will have at their fingertips sufficient propulsive energy and technology to land pretty much wherever the damn please without regard to rotational speed or climate conditions. Where they would land–if indeed, they choose to land at all–will depend more on their motives. For instance, if they want to talk to the leaders of the free world, they’ll clearly land in Washington D.C. adjacent to the Reflecting Pool. If they want to address the world as a whole, they’ll problably land in Geneva, or if they want to have a good time (and have an unabridged copy of the Guide onboard) New York City, in front of the United Nations Building. If they want to hide out and bide their time, the odds are good that they’ll burrow under the Antarctic ice. If they’ve been monitoring our transmissions and have taken a fancy to BBC science fiction shows, they’ll no doubt land in the English countryside. And if they really just want to party, they’ll pick Rio de Jeneiro during Carnival. My guess, though, is they’ll take one look the American Mid-West and head for the seas, trying to make contact with cetacean species in hope of not having to discuss the weather as a prelude to any conversation.
Bullcrap IMHO. We’re talking about interplanetary travelers.
If you’re stood in front of three dudes: one with a rock, one with a stick and one with a blow pipe, which is the most dangerous to a dude with an M16 500 yards away ?
If they don’t recognize the amount of radio radiation coming from this planet as being an artifact of some kind of tool-using life form, I’m afraid I’m going to question whether they’re capable of making an interstellar journey, or would want to. They may not figure out which species is the dominant, they may not agree that we’re sufficiently sapient to be worth talking to, but… to claim that they could be ignorant of our tool-using civilization just doesn’t hold water with me.