Not A Snark

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====== Comet ======

A comet is a ball of icy volatiles. This far from anywhere, it is just a dormant snowball with no tail or any chance of creating one. Roll a d6 to see how far it is from the ship. Technically, these aren't really comets, and some are better classed as kuiper-belt objects. But their make-up is very similar.

  - 1D6 x 10 Mkm
  - 1D6 x 25 Mkm
  - 1D6 x 50 Mkm
  - 1D6 x 100 Mkm
  - 1D6 x 150 Mkm (1 AU) (+1 to Size roll)
  - 1D6 x 2 AU (+2 to Size roll)

It will be moving vaguely in the ship’s direction (but is very unlikely to collide). Roll a D6 to see how quickly it is moving:

  - 1D6 km/s
  - 2D6 km/s
  - 3D6 km/s
  - 1D6 x 10 km/s
  - 1D6 x 30 km/s 
  - 1D6 x 100 km/s. Roll again, on a 6 multiply by 10 and roll again.

Chance of the ship detecting it depends on what sort of sensor scans they are performing. It takes about 15 minutes to get a radio pingback from an object for every 1 AU it is in distance.

^ Diameter    ^ Details ^

^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Small comet, 1D6 KM diameter ^
| 1  | 1  | A small dirty snowball made of various ices, mostly water and methane. |
| 1  | 2  | An elongated snowball made mostly of water and methane ices. |
| 1  | 3  | An almost pure water-ice snowball. |
| 1  | 4  | A broken collection of snowballs barely clinging together under gravity. |
| 1  | 5  | A small dirty snowball which contains some exotic crystals that form spiky growths on the surface. |
| 1  | 6  | A fluffy snowball that won't support the weight of a person. |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Small comet, 1D6 x 2 KM diameter ^
| 2  | 1  | A small dirty snowball made of various ices, mostly water and methane. |
| 2  | 2  | An almost pure methane-ice snowball. |
| 2  | 3  | There are hints of exotic compounds deep beneath the surface which could be mind. |
| 2  | 4  | Almost black snowball covered in sooty organic substances. |
| 2  | 5  | A radioactive core of heavy metals, the surface is radiating a halo of volatiles from the heat. |
| 2  | 6  | This is two snowballs stuck together, their surfaces melted where they touched. |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Small comet, 1D6 x 3 KM diameter ^
| 3  | 1  | A mix of pebbles and ice. |
| 3  | 2  | A red tainted ice ball. |
| 3  | 3  | An icy ball riddled with caves and tunnels. |
| 3  | 4  | An icy ball riddled with caves and tunnels. Exotic crystals can be found near the core. |
| 3  | 5  |  |
| 3  | 6  |  |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Medium comet, 1D6 x 5 KM diameter ^
| 4  | 1  |  |
| 4  | 2  |  |
| 4  | 3  |  |
| 4  | 4  |  |
| 4  | 5  |  |
| 4  | 6  |  |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Medium comet, 1D6 x 25 KM diameter ^
| 5  | 1  |  |
| 5  | 2  |  |
| 5  | 3  |  |
| 5  | 4  |  |
| 5  | 5  |  |
| 5  | 6  |  |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Large comet, 1D6 x 100 KM diameter ^
| 6  | 1  |  |
| 6  | 2  |  |
| 6  | 3  |  |
| 6  | 4  |  |
| 6  | 5  |  |
| 6  | 6  |  |
^ D6 ^ D6 ^ Large comet, 1D6 x 100 KM diameter ^
| 7+ | 1  |  |
| 7+ | 2  |  |
| 7+ | 3  |  |
| 7+ | 4  |  |
| 7+ | 5  |  |
| 7+ | 6  |  |


There is a 1 in 6 chance that the comet has some sign of civilisation.

  - A radio beacon on it.
  - There are a few empty cargo crates and signs of a makeshift landing site.
  - This place has been mined, there is some equipment left behind.
  - Some form of scout base, long since deserted.
  - It is an old weapon's cache, still some weapons here.
  - Old pirate base.

For the size of the settlement: 1-3) Small, 4-5) Medium, 6) Large.