A Baoa Qu and the Compass

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toysdream
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A Baoa Qu and the Compass

I suppose there's an obscure Borges joke in the title there, if you're really looking for it...

As you may know, the airspace around the space fortress A Baoa Qu is divided up into four "fields" named after the four points of the compass. In the final battle of the One Year War, the Federation's main force begins the attack by invading via N Field, and then the White Base and the Luzal Fleet open up a second front by attacking from S Field. Kycilia's Gwarib arrives in the middle of the battle by way of E Field, which is also where the Jotunheim is stationed in MS Igloo.

Historically, all the Japanese sources have assumed that the division into these four fields is basically arbitrary - that each field represents a 90-degree section of the airspace around A Baoa Qu, with the height of the spindle-shaped fortress as the centerline. But I was just looking at the catalog from Gundam Front Tokyo, and it shows a diagram of the fortress in which N Field is at the top of the fortress, S Field at the bottom, and W and E Fields are on the left and right sides. This actually makes a lot of sense to me!

As per Gundam Unicorn, the positions of colonies and other objects moving in a halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 are designated by their L1 reference coordinates - this far to the east or west, this far to north or south, and a plus-or-minus coordinate indicating whether they're further or closer to Earth than the point itself. North is the same direction as the Earth's north pole, south is the same direction as its south pole, and west and east point off to the sides. If it's standard practice to refer to orbital positions using N-S-E-W coordinates, then it makes perfect sense that they'd designate A Baoa Qu's fields this way!

The only question, then, is the orientation of the fortress itself. Is A Baoa Qu's top aligned with the Earth's north pole, or does it point directly at Earth, so that the four compass points are arrayed around its circumference? Perhaps the animation would give us some clues...

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Wingnut
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Re: A Baoa Qu and the Compass

Now that is interesting, and would change a lot of what I personally have assumed about who is where in relation to the rock at the end of MSG as in every animation I can recall, we see the fortress with the mushroom head at the top of whatever viewpoint we have.

Double interest for the events of Build Fighters' final episode. Would movie III be a better source for info then the TV series?
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Zeonista
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Re: A Baoa Qu and the Compass

Hmm, that is a more realistic arrangement & view of the four fields, given that it takes place in the 360-degree, Earth-oriented orientation of a LaGrange point in space!
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Compass
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Re: A Baoa Qu and the Compass

I do what I want! :lol:

I would have to assume that A Baoa Qu is actually aligned to earth's pole.

Practically speaking, it wouldn't make sense to have the axis pointed away from Earth, forcing you to turn towards earth upon leaving or entering the fortress. By having the vehicles exit and enter in the same plane as Earth there is no question where you are, as opposed to exiting and entering in a direction where earth would be in a blind spot above or below you due to the orientation.
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