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Subject: Halo array placement, scientific error?
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As we all know Halo array is meant to destroy all life in the whole galaxy. To reach every part of the galaxy Halos should have been spread in a heptagonal formation or as there were eleven of them when they were constructed hendecagonal (11-gonal) formation. Each of them is approximately 25000 light-years from the galactic center.

With radius that big we get a circumuference of

2*pi*25,000=157079.63267948965157080~15780 light-years.

When we divide that with seven

C/7=22439.94752564137857122440~22440 light-years,

or with eleven

C/11=14279.96660722633181814280~14280 light-years.

That's the distance between two rings.

As we know that Halo array in it's current state only uses seven rings we are left with 22440 light-years. And now we are also left with the question: how could we ever get to Alpha or Delta Halo as one of them is over 22000 light-years from Earth?

We know that at least one of these rings is close to human controlled space. We know that human ships can only travel 2.1 light-years a day. With distance of 22400 light-years it would take

22400/2.1=10666,666666666666666...~10667 days to even get near Earth. That's 1523 weeks or 356 months or 29 years.

NOTE: We can also assume that they have an equal distance from Earth and Earth is right between them which gives us distance of 11200 light-years. It's still a 15 year journey

We know that neither survivors from Alpha Halo nor Delta Halo took 15 or almost 30 years to get back. How did they get back so quickly then?

This also brings in mind the question: how fast Covenant ships actually are?

If we assume that for some reason Alpha Halo and Delta Halo were close to/inside human controlled space we are left with a very simple question: why? Why would Forerunners place the rings to not cover the whole galaxy? Why would they leave the rings in such an arbitrary formation?




[Edited on 05.07.2011 9:03 PM PDT]

  • 05.02.2011 10:20 AM PDT
Subject: Halo array placement, possible canon breach?

thier mission wasnt to destroy everyhing in the galaxy, just the flood and evrything near it that it feeds on. plus we rode a covie's wake to delta halo. as to how chief got back so fast on a long sword is beyond me.

[Edited on 05.02.2011 10:27 AM PDT]

  • 05.02.2011 10:25 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."


Posted by: boogerman77
thier mission wasnt to destroy everyhing in the galaxy, just the flood and evrything near it that it feeds on. plus we rode a covie's wake to delta halo. as to how chief got back so fast on a long sword is beyond me.


John, along with the survivors of Alpha Halo jacked a Covenant ship, The Ascendant Justice.

  • 05.02.2011 10:32 AM PDT


Posted by: RKOSNAKE

Posted by: boogerman77
thier mission wasnt to destroy everyhing in the galaxy, just the flood and evrything near it that it feeds on. plus we rode a covie's wake to delta halo. as to how chief got back so fast on a long sword is beyond me.


John, along with the survivors of Alpha Halo jacked a Covenant ship, The Ascendant Justice.



oh yeah! first strike! ok thanks for remembering.

  • 05.02.2011 10:34 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."


Posted by: boogerman77

Posted by: RKOSNAKE

Posted by: boogerman77
thier mission wasnt to destroy everyhing in the galaxy, just the flood and evrything near it that it feeds on. plus we rode a covie's wake to delta halo. as to how chief got back so fast on a long sword is beyond me.


John, along with the survivors of Alpha Halo jacked a Covenant ship, The Ascendant Justice.



oh yeah! first strike! ok thanks for remembering.


No problem, I like to help the rest of the community with Canon related stuff after all.

  • 05.02.2011 10:37 AM PDT

havnt read cryptum yet but i bet that could more-anwser this question.

  • 05.02.2011 10:39 AM PDT
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Posted by: boogerman77
thier mission wasnt to destroy everyhing in the galaxy, just the flood and evrything near it that it feeds on. plus we rode a covie's wake to delta halo. as to how chief got back so fast on a long sword is beyond me.

Their mission was to destroy all life in the galaxy. Best way to ensure that is to make the pulse reach every part of the galaxy that can possibly have life.

I am well aware of In Amber Clad getting carried by the Covenant Assault Carrier. Survivors of Alpha Halo getting back to human controlled space also isn't that big of a miracle as they made most of the journey with the Covenant flagship.

My main point is that there have been multiple occassions where human ships have got in and out of the star systems that posses a Halo installation only using with their own slipspace drives. Good example is UNSC prowler Dusk following the orbital battle of Delta Halo in Ghosts of Onyx.

  • 05.02.2011 10:40 AM PDT

Wake me when the jews are gone.

Slipspace was never acurate there were anomalys wich could make a ship travel to another galaxy in a second

  • 05.02.2011 11:09 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."

Ehhh, no, no integalactic travel is mentioned in Halo, seeing how it all takes place in the Milky Way Galaxy.

  • 05.02.2011 11:14 AM PDT

Perhaps they broke out of orbit and drifted into another postition?

On another note, I believe Guilty Spark says that if Alpha Halo was to be activated, it could set of a chain reaction in the other rings, despite the blast radius being insufficient.

  • 05.02.2011 11:19 AM PDT
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Deva Path


Posted by: DecepticonCobra

We are all going to get banned aren't we?


Posted by: RKOSNAKE
Ehhh, no, no integalactic travel is mentioned in Halo, seeing how it all takes place in the Milky Way Galaxy.


That is interstellar not intergalactic.

  • 05.02.2011 11:25 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."


Posted by: grey101

Posted by: RKOSNAKE
Ehhh, no, no integalactic travel is mentioned in Halo, seeing how it all takes place in the Milky Way Galaxy.


That is interstellar not intergalactic.


Ahh my bad.....


Wait a second, I'm right. Intergalactic travel is the action of traveling between galaxies, that's something not depicted in the Halo Universe due to the events of the saga all taking place in the Milky Way Galaxy, the only thing that would resemble Intergalactic travel would be the arrival of the Flood to our galaxy.

[Edited on 05.02.2011 11:28 AM PDT]

  • 05.02.2011 11:26 AM PDT

Well, for one, POA got to Alpha Halo from Reach, not Earth.

And the Assault Carrier's engines are far faster then any human's.

Edit: ^^^Not to be annoying or anything, but I like details a little too much. Intergalactic travel IS touched on in Halo, though briefly. We know that the Precursors were fully capable of it, and technically the Forerunners (though they preferred to remain in their own galaxy).

[Edited on 05.02.2011 2:31 PM PDT]

  • 05.02.2011 2:27 PM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."

Yes but it's not really touched by the games or the books in regards for Humanity and the Covenant.

  • 05.02.2011 3:00 PM PDT
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Posted by: roraj 196
Perhaps they broke out of orbit and drifted into another postition?

On another note, I believe Guilty Spark says that if Alpha Halo was to be activated, it could set of a chain reaction in the other rings, despite the blast radius being insufficient.

Drifting doesn't sound very possible. It's way too slow. To drift a journey of 20000 light-years in 100,000 years you would require a speed of 20% from the speed of light.

The blast radius wouldn't be totally insufficient if the ring was out of it's ideal position but would definitely be some gaps left where there is life and possibly Flood too and where pulse of any Halo couldn't reach.

  • 05.02.2011 9:00 PM PDT

also i think 343 guilty spark states that they are not in "firing posistion at one point. he also mentions standby posistion.

  • 05.02.2011 9:04 PM PDT
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Posted by: boogerman77
also i think 343 guilty spark states that they are not in "firing posistion at one point. he also mentions standby posistion.

I believe it was said that they were in standby mode and I also remember 2401 Penitent Tangent saying that the ring (Delta Halo) is ready to fire on demand. Of course it could just mean that the ring is only ready to fire but not in firing position.

But if they have standby positions is this the case with all rings and why would they have these standby positions?

  • 05.02.2011 9:18 PM PDT

"Concise and devoid of elegance...what I have come to expect from human communication"-Endless Summer

In case of a misfire? So there was a chance of some life remaining?

  • 05.02.2011 10:35 PM PDT
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I don't usually drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friends.

  • 05.02.2011 10:43 PM PDT
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My main point is that there have been multiple occassions where human ships have got in and out of the star systems that posses a Halo installation only using with their own slipspace drives. Good example is UNSC prowler Dusk following the orbital battle of Delta Halo in Ghosts of Onyx.

Pretty sure they traveled back in the wake of the Truth's ship.

  • 05.02.2011 11:00 PM PDT
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Posted by: opogjijijp
My main point is that there have been multiple occassions where human ships have got in and out of the star systems that posses a Halo installation only using with their own slipspace drives. Good example is UNSC prowler Dusk following the orbital battle of Delta Halo in Ghosts of Onyx.

Pretty sure they traveled back in the wake of the Truth's ship.

Thank you. I didn't remember that they catched the wake of Regret's ship while going there and when coming back they catched the wake of the Keyship.

This still brings up the question: how fast Covenant ships actually are? Regret's Assault Carrier jumped into slipspace on October 21st and arrived at destination on November 2nd. That leaves us with a journey of 22400 light-years and 11 days. That would mean Covenant ships can travel at speed of 2036 light-years a day. The distance between reach and Alpha Halo is 42 light-years (which I calculated from the time PoA took to get there from Reach). That would mean a Covenant ship could make that journey just in half an hour. By Cortana's calculations it should have taken 13 hours. That can only mean one of these two things:

1. Cortana could only utilize 4% of the power of the Covenant slipspace drive.

2. Covenant ships are actually much slower and the distance between Earth and Delta Halo is a lot smaller than 22400 light-years.

If it's the second, the placement problem hasn't been solved.

[Edited on 05.03.2011 7:49 AM PDT]

  • 05.03.2011 6:36 AM PDT


Posted by: tsassi2
...That would mean Covenant ships can travel at speed of 2036 light-years a day...

Not beyond the realms of possibility. I figured the point was Covenant ships owned the USNC navy in every possible way by such a long way it was pointless even trying to keep up.

Posted by: tsassi2
...The distance between reach and Alpha Halo is 42 light-years...

Unlikely if you ask me. Even at 2.1 ly/day, it is unreasonable to suggest that Alpha Halo's area hasn't been explored by 2552, even if we don't include ONI prowling. (cwhtididthr?)

  • 05.03.2011 7:53 AM PDT
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Posted by: RotaryCookie
Posted by: tsassi2
...The distance between reach and Alpha Halo is 42 light-years...

Unlikely if you ask me. Even at 2.1 ly/day, it is unreasonable to suggest that Alpha Halo's area hasn't been explored by 2552, even if we don't include ONI prowling. (cwhtididthr?)


Not exactly. If you take a one degree strip of sky, it's arc 42 light-years away would be 7,037,167,544,041 kilometers. That's 73% from a light-year. I believe that human controlled space has lots of unexplored spots.

Posted by: Swamptik
It's just a game man. I'm not too worried about small canonical errors like these.

Then why do you come to a forum which is 100% about canon discussion?

[Edited on 05.03.2011 8:59 AM PDT]

  • 05.03.2011 8:30 AM PDT

"Wake me...when you need me."

It's just a game man. I'm not too worried about small canonical errors like these.

  • 05.03.2011 8:56 AM PDT

Nemo Me Impune Lacessit

no offence mate but if you worked that out you really have too much time on your hands.

  • 05.03.2011 1:19 PM PDT

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