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Minbar
- Thread starter Galahad
- Start date
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
Minbar isn't covered in ice. It has a great many outcroppings of crystal near its surface, and the Minbari have incorporated them into their architecture. (Indeed, their earliest dwellings were caves carved into the crystal hills, and many are still in use thousands of years later. See To Dream in the City of Sorrows.) The planet has a climate much like Earth's and similar seasons, enough that Marcus Cole can speak of "the autumn breeze".
There are a number of references to Minbar's "crystal cities" and the like in the series, and it is clear from many shots on the planet (especially the Minbar segments of In the Beginning) that the buildings and landscape could not be ice - since people are living in them and nobody is dressed warmly enough, for one thing. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
As for "The Lurker's Guide" - there is very little there that is "made up". Almost everything is based on the series, JMS's posts and statements or documentary evidence like the writer's guides, JMS-written comics or "canonical" books. Speculation is nearly always labelled as such.
Regards,
Joe
There are a number of references to Minbar's "crystal cities" and the like in the series, and it is clear from many shots on the planet (especially the Minbar segments of In the Beginning) that the buildings and landscape could not be ice - since people are living in them and nobody is dressed warmly enough, for one thing. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
As for "The Lurker's Guide" - there is very little there that is "made up". Almost everything is based on the series, JMS's posts and statements or documentary evidence like the writer's guides, JMS-written comics or "canonical" books. Speculation is nearly always labelled as such.
Regards,
Joe
Galahad
Regular
This isn't where I got the idea from, but I am not alone in thinking this:
http://www.tp2b.de/minbari_federation.html
http://www.tp2b.de/minbari_federation.html
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Serious angular difference between equatorial plane and orbital plane? Especially when combined with extremely long years (relatively far from its star, or relatively small star)? That could yield an environment with unequal polar icecaps.
However, in my imagination, Minbar is not such an environment. In my imagination, it is simply a somewhat colder place than Earth, with the southern icecap permanently greater due to peculiarities of local terrain and climate.
However, in my imagination, Minbar is not such an environment. In my imagination, it is simply a somewhat colder place than Earth, with the southern icecap permanently greater due to peculiarities of local terrain and climate.
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
In season four Lennier makes reference to the fact that religious caste members are being forced into the large barren polar areas.
[/quote]
We have large, barren, polar areas of our own, but no one says our planet is "largely covered in ice". BTW, it is Forell, in "Lines of Communication", who tells Delenn about what that the warrior caste drove religious caste members unprotected into the polar wastes. (Where many naturally died, but without the warriors having directly killed them, thereby technically getting around Valen's prohibition against Minbari killing Minbari.) However we may not be able to take Forell at his word in this. He is trying to paint the worst possible picture in order to persuade Delenn to accept the help of the Drakh against the warrior caste. It is entirely possible that he is lying. Minbari society is unravelling, all the rules being abandoned, so why not the rule against lying?
(Of course, there would still have to be polar wastes in order for the story to be believable. But that still doesn't mean the Minbar is "largely covered by ice.")
Regards,
Joe
In season four Lennier makes reference to the fact that religious caste members are being forced into the large barren polar areas.
[/quote]
We have large, barren, polar areas of our own, but no one says our planet is "largely covered in ice". BTW, it is Forell, in "Lines of Communication", who tells Delenn about what that the warrior caste drove religious caste members unprotected into the polar wastes. (Where many naturally died, but without the warriors having directly killed them, thereby technically getting around Valen's prohibition against Minbari killing Minbari.) However we may not be able to take Forell at his word in this. He is trying to paint the worst possible picture in order to persuade Delenn to accept the help of the Drakh against the warrior caste. It is entirely possible that he is lying. Minbari society is unravelling, all the rules being abandoned, so why not the rule against lying?
(Of course, there would still have to be polar wastes in order for the story to be believable. But that still doesn't mean the Minbar is "largely covered by ice.")
Regards,
Joe
A_M_Swallow
Regular
Quoting "The A to Z of Babylon 5" by David Bassom which quotes "Now for a Word"
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Minbar
The Minbari homeworld. Almost a quarter of Minbar is covered by its north polar ice cap. The planet is rich in crystalline deposits and many of its cities are cut directly from crystal formations. During the sprint, they create some breathtaking patterns of light. Minbar is the seventh planet from its sun.
[/quote]
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Minbar
The Minbari homeworld. Almost a quarter of Minbar is covered by its north polar ice cap. The planet is rich in crystalline deposits and many of its cities are cut directly from crystal formations. During the sprint, they create some breathtaking patterns of light. Minbar is the seventh planet from its sun.
[/quote]
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Well, it seems I confused north with south. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Happens often with imaginary planets.
Happens often with imaginary planets.
Well don't worry, Lennier ... the Minbari might draw their maps with south pointing upward - there's nothing special about northern magnetism verses southern (not even counting that they switch). In fact, if there is more ice covering the north, more Minbari might have lived and developed culture in the south and thus they might have thought themselves as the ones "on top of the world" (like how the highly populated northern land masses of our world were admament about making maps and spreading them to others picked "up" as "north"). Of course the Minbari might not have been as vain as we are. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Planets with a molten core are likely to have magnetic poles. I suppose that Minbar has a molten core, since it has mountains, and those cannot usually form without some seismic activity.
How magnetic poles might be placed... not sure. They might not always overlap with the approximate endpoints of a planet's rotation axis. Neither is their direction guaranteed to remain. Earth has swapped its magnetic poles several times in history.
Neither is planetary rotation axis guaranteed to have a certain angle in relation to the orbital plane. So you are indeed correct: people are likely to name poles as they desire, and there is no permanent inherent difference.
However, they are likely name poles, and those poles are likely to match with the endpoints of the rotation axis, becuse this can offer practical worth in understanding some concepts and making some measurements.
How magnetic poles might be placed... not sure. They might not always overlap with the approximate endpoints of a planet's rotation axis. Neither is their direction guaranteed to remain. Earth has swapped its magnetic poles several times in history.
Neither is planetary rotation axis guaranteed to have a certain angle in relation to the orbital plane. So you are indeed correct: people are likely to name poles as they desire, and there is no permanent inherent difference.
However, they are likely name poles, and those poles are likely to match with the endpoints of the rotation axis, becuse this can offer practical worth in understanding some concepts and making some measurements.
