- Joined
- May 19, 2011
- Messages
- 612
- Reaction score
- 64
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Website
- authorscottkaelen.wordpress.com
The second chapter of my WIP is where things really move up a gear in the form of certain areas in the main continent being bombarded by meteorites. My concerns lie with how accurate my descriptions are.
It is still only in draft form, so I won't cut and paste sections of text, but rather explain briefly the behaviour of the meteorites.
1. Two of my main protagonists are walking across a heathland in the late morning when from the south they see several points of light approaching from high over the horizon. As the objects near, a low, distant roar begins. It only takes moments for the fireballs to streak across the sky, far ahead of our heroes. A long, dark crimson trail snakes out behind the balls of flame, lingering in the sky, dissipating gradually after the flaming objects have disappeared into the northern sky.
2. Cut to two other MCs, and a pet dog, many leagues to the north-east. They are in a clearing in a forest where they have been cutting down trees, when suddenly the sky lights up above the treetops to the south and a terrific roar drowns out all other noise. Bright streaks course overhead as man, boy and hound turn and flee down the forest trail, arms up and shielding their eyes from the light. One of the fireballs passes close enough for a wave of heat to wash down over the trio, scorching the top leaves of the tall trees. The man throws the boy to the ground and falls over him, protecting the boy's head and upper body from the heat. Moments later the deafening roar has become a distant thrum, and the heatwave from the blazing tail of the fireball has gone. The skin on the man's arms and shoulders and back of his head are hot and reddened. As the pair stagger to their feet in a daze, a sudden explosion can be heard from a league to the north. The village where they live has been struck by the low fireball and completely destroyed.
3. Cut to a snowy land many leagues to the north, and another of my MCs. The remaining fireballs stream over a small town that lies within a valley in the foothills of a massive mountain. They pass beyond the mountain range and disappear from sight. As the last of them is nearing the mountain, the townsfolk watch in terror as it strkes a glancing blow high on the side of the mountain, shattering huge chunks of rock which come cascading down.
Does any or all of this sound at all feasible? If not, what sort of behavioural pattern should the meteorites be following? They do need to be large enough for one of them to destroy a small village, along with several other small-scale catastrophes across the continent.
I have them following an almost-horizontal flight path as they enter the atmosphere and continue on for hundreds, even thousands, of leagues over land and sea. Would this be possible, or are they much more likely to plummet downwards rather than streak across the sky?
Another concern I have is that much later in the story one of the world's four orbiting moons comes crashing to the surface after it has been sent into a decaying orbit from being struck by one or more of the fireballs as they passed by on their way to the planet. The moon is not big. (Hint: It's big enough to store about a million human-sized lifeforms...) What sort of timeframe am I looking at for the moon to fall to the surface? And, again, is it likely to follow a gradual near-horizontal approach or a more abrupt fall to the ground? Ideally I want it to pass overhead close enough to strike terror into the hearts of everyone in the northern continent, as it will continue onwards and hit a large, rocky plainsland on the hot southern continent. I'm hoping that much of the debris that rises into the atmosphere willbe visible from the northern continent but remain far enough away so as not to affect it.
Please, if any of you are knowledgeable in this field, I'd very much appreciate even just a few yays or nays. I have done my research, but of course nothing beats the direct opinion of an expert.
It is still only in draft form, so I won't cut and paste sections of text, but rather explain briefly the behaviour of the meteorites.
1. Two of my main protagonists are walking across a heathland in the late morning when from the south they see several points of light approaching from high over the horizon. As the objects near, a low, distant roar begins. It only takes moments for the fireballs to streak across the sky, far ahead of our heroes. A long, dark crimson trail snakes out behind the balls of flame, lingering in the sky, dissipating gradually after the flaming objects have disappeared into the northern sky.
2. Cut to two other MCs, and a pet dog, many leagues to the north-east. They are in a clearing in a forest where they have been cutting down trees, when suddenly the sky lights up above the treetops to the south and a terrific roar drowns out all other noise. Bright streaks course overhead as man, boy and hound turn and flee down the forest trail, arms up and shielding their eyes from the light. One of the fireballs passes close enough for a wave of heat to wash down over the trio, scorching the top leaves of the tall trees. The man throws the boy to the ground and falls over him, protecting the boy's head and upper body from the heat. Moments later the deafening roar has become a distant thrum, and the heatwave from the blazing tail of the fireball has gone. The skin on the man's arms and shoulders and back of his head are hot and reddened. As the pair stagger to their feet in a daze, a sudden explosion can be heard from a league to the north. The village where they live has been struck by the low fireball and completely destroyed.
3. Cut to a snowy land many leagues to the north, and another of my MCs. The remaining fireballs stream over a small town that lies within a valley in the foothills of a massive mountain. They pass beyond the mountain range and disappear from sight. As the last of them is nearing the mountain, the townsfolk watch in terror as it strkes a glancing blow high on the side of the mountain, shattering huge chunks of rock which come cascading down.
Does any or all of this sound at all feasible? If not, what sort of behavioural pattern should the meteorites be following? They do need to be large enough for one of them to destroy a small village, along with several other small-scale catastrophes across the continent.
I have them following an almost-horizontal flight path as they enter the atmosphere and continue on for hundreds, even thousands, of leagues over land and sea. Would this be possible, or are they much more likely to plummet downwards rather than streak across the sky?
Another concern I have is that much later in the story one of the world's four orbiting moons comes crashing to the surface after it has been sent into a decaying orbit from being struck by one or more of the fireballs as they passed by on their way to the planet. The moon is not big. (Hint: It's big enough to store about a million human-sized lifeforms...) What sort of timeframe am I looking at for the moon to fall to the surface? And, again, is it likely to follow a gradual near-horizontal approach or a more abrupt fall to the ground? Ideally I want it to pass overhead close enough to strike terror into the hearts of everyone in the northern continent, as it will continue onwards and hit a large, rocky plainsland on the hot southern continent. I'm hoping that much of the debris that rises into the atmosphere willbe visible from the northern continent but remain far enough away so as not to affect it.
Please, if any of you are knowledgeable in this field, I'd very much appreciate even just a few yays or nays. I have done my research, but of course nothing beats the direct opinion of an expert.
Last edited:
