Well, part of the problem here is that having sensors get too good, or space too well monitored, breaks traveller canon and (more importantly) the "feel" of the game. Covert operations need to be able to hide in dark corners. Lost wrecks need to stay lost until the player characters find them. If the universe gets too brightly lit, so to speak, it no longer feels like the Third Imperium we all know and love (to tinker with). A game with sensors and surveillance on that scale might well be fun and interesting, but it would tend to feel more like Star Trek or Banks' Culture than like Traveller.

On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 2:02 PM, Knapp <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes, I was thinking of having the sensors all over a few parsecs. A lot like hunting for wrecks nowadays. They don't expect to find a lot or often and it does take some luck and a lot of investment before hand. Bruce, I am not sure if you were pro or anti idea with your Webb statement. 

Does this not qualify as direct observation of a planet's atmosphere, Leonard?

Degree of ark of observation might be solved by many techniques that are coming online now. At TL 15? I could not say but I would be willing to think it could be done and at a profitable price.

http://www.gizmag.com/spider-telescope-lockheed-martin/41403/
What if tech like this were used to cover a 100m sphere. Seems to me you could have a good 360 by 360 coverage of the whole sky at TL 15.

A last point, does not jump flash have a signature that is artificial enough to pick out from the background noise?  I would think the radiation signature would be very odd.

--
Douglas E Knapp, MSAOM, LAc.
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Craig Berry (http://google.com/+CraigBerry)
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