Difference between revisions of "Gilly"

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(Added 2 sentences about kerbals being able to land from and return to a command module in orbit around Gilly.)
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{{:Gilly/Data}}
 
{{:Gilly/Data}}
  
'''Gilly''' is a tiny asteroid and the only [[w:natural satellite|natural satellite]] of [[Eve]]. Gilly is the smallest celestial body in the [[Kerbol]] system. Landing on Gilly is challenging due to its very low mass, steep slopes, and highly eccentric orbit, making it very easy to overthrust engines or send a spacecraft tumbling.  Gilly's odd shape and fast rotation give the surface near the peaks an apparent velocity near 5 m/s. The [[navball]] of a lander securely parked on the surface may still display "Orbit" and a small non-zero lateral speed. To prevent tumbling upon landing, the final velocity trim may need to be performed by eye. Escaping Gilly, is much easier — the [[EVA]] jetpack can easily put a lone Kerbal into orbit or set him on an escape trajectory. In fact, it's possible to have a spacecraft in orbit around Gilly, then go on an EVA with a kerbal to land on the surface, entirely without the need for a spacecraft. With some difficulty due to the lack of a navball, the kerbal can even do a rendezvous back to the spacecraft with more than 25% pack fuel left.
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'''Gilly''' is a tiny asteroid, the only [[w:natural satellite|natural satellite]] of [[Eve]], and the smallest celestial body in the [[Kerbol]] system. Landing on Gilly is challenging due to its very low mass, steep slopes, and highly eccentric orbit, making it very easy to overthrust engines or send a spacecraft tumbling.  Gilly's odd shape and fast rotation give the surface near the peaks an apparent velocity near 5 m/s. The [[navball]] of a lander securely parked on the surface may still display "Orbit" and a small non-zero lateral speed. To prevent tumbling upon landing, the final velocity trim may need to be performed by eye.  
  
Gilly has the least gravity of all bodies in the Kerbol system, with half of Jool's moon Pol due to its extremely small mass and size. A Kerbal can jump over 1000 meters on this moon. Gilly's gravity makes it ideal for very low fuel interplanetary missions. Gilly also has an irregular orbit, so catching the moon is a bit harder.
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Escaping Gilly is much easier — the [[EVA]] jetpack can easily put a lone Kerbal into orbit or set him on an escape trajectory. In fact, it's possible to deploy a Kerbal from a spacecraft in orbit around Gilly, send him down to the surface, and land him without using any other fuel source. Albeit with some difficulty due to the lack of a navball, the Kerbal can even return to orbit, rendezvous with the spacecraft, and still have more than 25% pack fuel left.
  
An unplanned encounter with Gilly is unlikely when approaching Eve, even if player's trajectory is near the plane of Gilly's orbit. This is because Gilly's mass is very small relative to Eve's mass resulting in a very small sphere of influence compared to the semi-major axis of its orbit. In fact, no other moon in the game has a smaller mass ratio.<!-- soi-sma ratio is basically the same as the mass ratio: soi/sma = (sma*(m/M)^(2/5))/sma = (m/M)^(2/5) -->
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Gilly has the least gravity of all bodies in the Kerbol system, with half of that possessed by Jool's moon Pol, due to its extremely low mass and small size. A Kerbal can jump over 1000 meters on this moon. Gilly's gravity makes it ideal for very low fuel interplanetary missions; however, its eccentric and inclined orbit may make encounters more difficult and fuel-costly.
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An unplanned encounter with Gilly is unlikely when approaching Eve, even if player's trajectory is near the plane of Gilly's orbit. This is because Gilly's mass is very small relative to Eve's mass, resulting in a very small sphere of influence compared to the semi-major axis of its orbit. In fact, no other moon in the game has a smaller mass ratio.<!-- soi-sma ratio is basically the same as the mass ratio: soi/sma = (sma*(m/M)^(2/5))/sma = (m/M)^(2/5) -->
  
 
Gilly was once even more dangerous to land on due to a clipping bug with the [[w:polygon mesh|collision mesh]]. This problem was fixed in {{version|0.17.1}}.
 
Gilly was once even more dangerous to land on due to a clipping bug with the [[w:polygon mesh|collision mesh]]. This problem was fixed in {{version|0.17.1}}.
  
 
== Topography ==
 
== Topography ==
[[File:Gilly ISA Topo.png|thumb|left|The topographic map of Gilly.]]The surface of Gilly is extremely dynamic and uneven, with many steep slopes and smooth areas. Gilly has the lowest mass and gravitational force. Due to its minuscule mass and gravitational force, it does not have an atmosphere. Gilly's color might come from a high content of solid carbon. This moon is considered a [[captured asteroid]]. When terrain scatters are enabled in the settings menu, you can see small rocks on the surface.
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[[File:Gilly ISA Topo.png|thumb|left|A topographic map of Gilly.]]The surface of Gilly is extremely dynamic and uneven, with many steep slopes and smooth areas. This moon is considered a [[captured asteroid]]. Gilly has the lowest mass and gravitational force of any body in the [[Kerbol]] system. Due to its minuscule mass and gravitational force, it does not have an atmosphere.  
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Gilly's color might come from a high content of solid carbon. When terrain scatters are enabled in the settings menu, small rocks show up on the surface.
  
 
== Gravity ==
 
== Gravity ==
The gravity of Gilly is extremely low with only 0.5% of [[Kerbin]]'s surface gravity. Because of this, it is very impractical to walk on Gilly; a jumping Kerbal will usually take around 200 seconds to return to the surface.  This makes jetpacks a necessity to move around the moon practically.  The low gravity also makes it very difficult to get into an encounter since it makes the sphere of influence so miniscule. On the other hand, landing and starting a craft is very easy to accomplish as they weigh <!-- weigh(t) ≠ mass --> far less than usual.
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The gravity of Gilly is extremely low, with only 0.5% of [[Kerbin]]'s surface gravity. Because of this, it is very impractical to walk on Gilly; each step will launch a Kerbal several meters into the air, and a jumping Kerbal will usually take around 200 seconds to return to the surface.  This makes jetpacks a necessity to move around the moon practically.  The low gravity also makes it very difficult to get into an encounter since it makes the sphere of influence so miniscule. On the other hand, landing and starting a craft is very easy to accomplish as they weigh <!-- weigh(t) ≠ mass --> far less than usual.
  
 
== Reference Frames ==
 
== Reference Frames ==
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Gilly ISA Topo.png | Topographical image of Gilly.
 
Gilly ISA Topo.png | Topographical image of Gilly.
 
screenshot123.png  | A successful [[EVA]] landing.
 
screenshot123.png  | A successful [[EVA]] landing.
Gilly_map_800.gif  | A topografic height map of Gilly as at Version 0.18.2 made with the ISA MapSat plugin
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Gilly_map_800.gif  | A topographic height map of Gilly as of Version 0.18.2. Made with the ISA MapSat plugin.
Gilly_Probe.png    | A succesful probe landing. You can see small rocks at the surface in the background.
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Gilly_Probe.png    | A successful probe landing. Small rocks are visible on the surface in the background.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  

Revision as of 20:17, 18 November 2013

Gilly/Data

Gilly is a tiny asteroid, the only natural satellite of Eve, and the smallest celestial body in the Kerbol system. Landing on Gilly is challenging due to its very low mass, steep slopes, and highly eccentric orbit, making it very easy to overthrust engines or send a spacecraft tumbling. Gilly's odd shape and fast rotation give the surface near the peaks an apparent velocity near 5 m/s. The navball of a lander securely parked on the surface may still display "Orbit" and a small non-zero lateral speed. To prevent tumbling upon landing, the final velocity trim may need to be performed by eye.

Escaping Gilly is much easier — the EVA jetpack can easily put a lone Kerbal into orbit or set him on an escape trajectory. In fact, it's possible to deploy a Kerbal from a spacecraft in orbit around Gilly, send him down to the surface, and land him without using any other fuel source. Albeit with some difficulty due to the lack of a navball, the Kerbal can even return to orbit, rendezvous with the spacecraft, and still have more than 25% pack fuel left.

Gilly has the least gravity of all bodies in the Kerbol system, with half of that possessed by Jool's moon Pol, due to its extremely low mass and small size. A Kerbal can jump over 1000 meters on this moon. Gilly's gravity makes it ideal for very low fuel interplanetary missions; however, its eccentric and inclined orbit may make encounters more difficult and fuel-costly.

An unplanned encounter with Gilly is unlikely when approaching Eve, even if player's trajectory is near the plane of Gilly's orbit. This is because Gilly's mass is very small relative to Eve's mass, resulting in a very small sphere of influence compared to the semi-major axis of its orbit. In fact, no other moon in the game has a smaller mass ratio.

Gilly was once even more dangerous to land on due to a clipping bug with the collision mesh. This problem was fixed in version 0.17.1.

Topography

A topographic map of Gilly.
The surface of Gilly is extremely dynamic and uneven, with many steep slopes and smooth areas. This moon is considered a captured asteroid. Gilly has the lowest mass and gravitational force of any body in the Kerbol system. Due to its minuscule mass and gravitational force, it does not have an atmosphere.

Gilly's color might come from a high content of solid carbon. When terrain scatters are enabled in the settings menu, small rocks show up on the surface.

Gravity

The gravity of Gilly is extremely low, with only 0.5% of Kerbin's surface gravity. Because of this, it is very impractical to walk on Gilly; each step will launch a Kerbal several meters into the air, and a jumping Kerbal will usually take around 200 seconds to return to the surface. This makes jetpacks a necessity to move around the moon practically. The low gravity also makes it very difficult to get into an encounter since it makes the sphere of influence so miniscule. On the other hand, landing and starting a craft is very easy to accomplish as they weigh far less than usual.

Reference Frames

Gilly/RefFrames

Gallery

Changes

0.17.1
  • Fixed terrain collision detection issues.
0.17
  • Initial Release