I write science fiction. As an (astro-) physicist, I like the science in my fiction to be as accurate as possible. Sometimes, this means as accurate as the plot allows, but I like to think that accuracy and a good plot aren't mutually exclusive.
As such, I often find myself googling random statistics, such as the distances between stars and planets. This sort of information isn't always directly available (for example, Wiki lists the distances to the nearest stars from Earth, but the distances between stars are not to be found) so I end up calculating things myself. I thought it might be nice to share some of these calculations with the world. Partly to make things easier for anyone else trying to google these random facts and partly so that I have a record of them for myself other than on a random piece of paper that I will invariably lose by the time I want it again.
As such, I often find myself googling random statistics, such as the distances between stars and planets. This sort of information isn't always directly available (for example, Wiki lists the distances to the nearest stars from Earth, but the distances between stars are not to be found) so I end up calculating things myself. I thought it might be nice to share some of these calculations with the world. Partly to make things easier for anyone else trying to google these random facts and partly so that I have a record of them for myself other than on a random piece of paper that I will invariably lose by the time I want it again.
