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Redmoon Calculators
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Sci-Fi Comms & Orbital Delay Calculator

免费硬科幻通信延迟计算器。选择起点和终点(地球、月球、火星、小行星带),输出单向光速延迟和对话延迟。

何时使用

Use when writing hard sci-fi where realistic comms delays drive plot tension. A character on Mars waiting 26 minutes for a reply to "we have a problem" is a great scene beat.

与其他指标对比

NASA-grade tools require ephemeris data. This is a writer's shorthand — accurate enough to ground your scene without slowing you down.

Enter your values below. Calculations run locally as you type.

工作原理

Each destination uses nominal closest-approach and farthest-opposition distances in astronomical units (AU).

One-way delay = distance / (light speed × FTL multiplier). Conversation lag is twice that — you send a message, the receiver replies.

For dramatic effect, set FTL > 1 to model an Alcubierre-style fictional drive.

常见问题

Where do the distances come from?

Nominal closest/farthest orbital approaches in astronomical units (AU). Real opposition / conjunction varies year to year.

Is this real physics?

Yes for radio-speed delays. FTL is fictional — use the multiplier as a story convenience.

Why does the Earth-to-Mars delay change so much?

The planets orbit at different speeds, so their separation swings from about 3 light-minutes at closest approach (opposition) to over 20 light-minutes when on opposite sides of the Sun (conjunction). That is why the one-way delay is given as a range rather than a fixed number.

Why is conversation lag double the one-way delay?

A reply must travel back as well as the original message travel out, so a full round trip takes twice the one-way light-time. At Mars opposition that means waiting roughly six minutes before you could hear an answer.

示例

输入

Earth → Mars, closest approach, light speed.

输出

One-way: 4:20 minutes. Conversation lag: 8:40.

Earth–Mars closest approach is ~0.52 AU = 78 million km. At light speed (~300,000 km/s), one-way takes ~260 seconds — about 4 min 20 s.

常见陷阱

  • Doesn't model orbital mechanics for transit time — only signal delay.
  • Asteroid belt distance is averaged; real asteroids vary widely.
  • FTL is a story convenience, not a real physical mechanism.

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