background furry #19375 
![full](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532653195319574543/746364697103696012/gif_comet.gif!
"+*)
[__***Comet Running_***, by Anders Sandberg+":__](http://www.aleph.se/EclipsePhase/comet%20run.pdf
_)
*Doing a comet run is a mixture of luck, opted hardware and some limited skill. In space everything is either immobile or fast enough to kill you, and near an active comet there is so much going on that no predictive software and sensors can fully keep track of it. Still, being nimble and prescient helps reduce the chance of death from certain to merely large._
_*
*There is plenty of old-fashioned macho aesthetics to it. It would be trivial to sleeve into a heavy metal penetrator and just railgun into the comet - so there is no point to it. Human-sized morphs,"[EVA bikes":](https://halo.fandom.com/wiki/Open_Frame_92/Extra-Vehicular_Activity) (often fitted out to look like motorbikes - remember those?) and no excessive armour. Plenty of opinions about whether synthmorphs are cheating or not, but in my book their higher acceleration tolerance is outweighed by the extra care biomorph owners show with their bodies._
"*
[![full](https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2019/10/14/2168650.jpeg!":)](https://derpibooru.org/images/2168650?q=hoverbike
_)
*Finding the right comet is also a bit of an art. Fresh long-periodic comets look grand, but are fairly "clean": mostly ice, with a gradual evaporation that makes the run uneventful. Except when they do have an unexpected eruption - suddenly you find yourself surrounded by tumbling pure icebergs in a white mist. Nothing like it. Jupiter or Halley family ones are far less visual, but the crustiness makes for some challenging navigation. The organisers typically aim for having the run just after a big eruption or even better a breakup._
_*
*Some of my best experiences have been just off Jupiter, with tidal shearing turning the coma into a labyrinth of shards. And once I did a sungrazer: we honestly did not know if the core would make it, and if the winner would go down with it._
_*
*Seeing the corona through the flaming coma, photosphere reflected in sublimating ice..._
*
%[ a"[sungrazing":](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sungrazing_comet) comet ]~
_%
*we did not care whether we would live or die._
_*
*Suit up, boot up the control network, rev up your bike and wait for the organiser to signal (in our race the Nick detonates a plasma warhead). The first part is simple and boring - just getting close to the comet. You can accelerate a lot, but that will make the approach too dangerous. But you don't want to hold back too much either - there is nothing worse than seeing the others far ahead. This is where you can start to see the personalities of your competitors._
_*
*Coma approach is just dodging dense clouds, avoiding"[getting hit":](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervelocity) by pebbles and abrasive ice. Mostly luck and not too interesting unless there is some odd space weather. Some strategizing for getting a good angle - it is at this point the jockeying for advantage really starts. Then things pick up as you approach the core. By now you need to slow down to avoid overshooting it, so getting shot by a pebble is less of a danger. Instead the icebergs start showing up, especially if it is a good breakup. It is at this point pure luck is replaced by skill, precognition and tech._
*
%[ inside the tail of a comet ]~
_%
*There is no way of expressing what you are doing. It is not just dodging incoming projectiles and avoiding hitting tumbling blocks, but finding a path through the many dimensions of velocity, position, angle and fuel reserves as the comet throws surprise after surprise at you._
_*
*Some comets are fair - P/2087 Seung-Resnick seems remarkably regular - while others are black balls of maliciousness and bad luck. There is a reason why we speak in hushed tones of P/2018 Albeverio. It is not just respect to the people it has claimed - remember, this was the one that got Olivia Blitz for real - but because there is something downright intentional in how it is throwing everything it got at you. You dodge a curtain only to find yourself in front of a small reef of shards. You select a fast and clear approach, and just as you are committed to it there is a surface eruption filling it with the fastest and most fractious bergs you can imagine. A friend had his automation crash on approach and I know two people who have had their nano act up inside the coma: Albeverio is_* "_[*evil._":*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)
_)
*Finally you reach the core. If you have been lucky and skilled there is nobody ahead of you launching their victory flares._
*
%["[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko":](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaeSu00dFHA) ]~
_%
*Just you and kilometres of pure comet. Land, crash or touch down. Enjoy the kiss of a conquered piece of heaven._*
"+*
[__***Comet Running
_
*Doing a comet run is a mixture of luck, opted hardware and some limited skill. In space everything is either immobile or fast enough to kill you, and near an active comet there is so much going on that no predictive software and sensors can fully keep track of it. Still, being nimble and prescient helps reduce the chance of death from certain to merely large.
_
*There is plenty of old-fashioned macho aesthetics to it. It would be trivial to sleeve into a heavy metal penetrator and just railgun into the comet - so there is no point to it. Human-sized morphs,
"
[![full](https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2019/10/14/2168650.jp
_
*Finding the right comet is also a bit of an art. Fresh long-periodic comets look grand, but are fairly "clean": mostly ice, with a gradual evaporation that makes the run uneventful. Except when they do have an unexpected eruption - suddenly you find yourself surrounded by tumbling pure icebergs in a white mist. Nothing like it. Jupiter or Halley family ones are far less visual, but the crustiness makes for some challenging navigation. The organisers typically aim for having the run just after a big eruption or even better a breakup.
_
*Some of my best experiences have been just off Jupiter, with tidal shearing turning the coma into a labyrinth of shards. And once I did a sungrazer: we honestly did not know if the core would make it, and if the winner would go down with it.
_
*Seeing the corona through the flaming coma, photosphere reflected in sublimating ice...
. The first part is simple and boring - just getting close to the comet. You can accelerate a lot, but that will make the approach too dangerous. But you don't want to hold back too much either - there is nothing worse than seeing the others far ahead. This is where you can start to see the personalities of your competitors.
_
*Coma approach is just dodging dense clouds, avoiding
![full](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532653195319574543/746364038258360370/art_Sci-fi-Art-Moz-Chops-Into-The-Comets-Tail.jpg
~
%[ inside the tail of a comet ]
_
*There is no way of expressing what you are doing. It is not just dodging incoming projectiles and avoiding hitting tumbling blocks, but finding a path through the many dimensions of velocity, position, angle and fuel reserves as the comet throws surprise after surprise at you.
_
*Some comets are fair - P/2087 Seung-Resnick seems remarkably regular - while others are black balls of maliciousness and bad luck. There is a reason why we speak in hushed tones of P/2018 Albeverio. It is not just respect to the people it has claimed - remember, this was the one that got Olivia Blitz for real - but because there is something downright intentional in how it is throwing everything it got at you. You dodge a curtain only to find yourself in front of a small reef of shards. You select a fast and clear approach, and just as you are committed to it there is a surface eruption filling it with the fastest and most fractious bergs you can imagine. A friend had his automation crash on approach and I know two people who have had their nano act up inside the coma: Albeverio is
_
*Finally you reach the core. If you have been lucky and skilled there is nobody ahead of you launching their victory flares.
![full](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532653195319574543/746363845806653520/photo_67P_ChuryumovGerasimenko.jpg
~
%[
_
*Just you and kilometres of pure comet. Land, crash or touch down. Enjoy the kiss of a conquered piece of heaven.