On 9/26/2015 4:54 AM, Rob O'Connor wrote:
> Kurt Feltenberger wrote:
> > If you wanted to observe a planet without being seen...
>
> What does 'observe a planet' mean?
> Continuous coverage of the entire surface needs multiple observers in
> different positions.

Mostly traffic to and from the world, though the sensors would have the
resolution to discern large structures on the surface.

The world in question is uninhabited, has no artificial satellites, and
is suspected of being used as some sort of staging base by a group
within the government for a coup or other disruptive actions. They don't
need to be able to count noses or how many cars are in the parking lot,
just observe the traffic and what's going on.

>
> Continuous coverage of a region requires a synchronous orbit, which is
> pretty close to a planet by Traveller standards.

The goal is to watch the entire planet, thus one ship at a standoff
distance and that's pretty much "stationary" with regards to the
planet's revolving on its axis.

>
> Etc.
>
> > assuming you had a stealthy enough ship...
>
> Depends on the rule set and its tech assumptions.
>
> For Traveller, electromagnetic masking with an overall volume of less
> than 100 displacement tons seems a good starting point.

For this scenario, the ship is adequately stealthy and the technology is
up to the task assigned.

--
Kurt Feltenberger
xxxxxx@thepaw.org/xxxxxx@yahoo.com
“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not
living enough." - Me