36 symbols or 39 symbols?

[wowser147]

I'm asking because Milky Way Stargates have 39 constellation symbols while Pegasus has only 36 including the point of origin. I noticed that the symbols on Pegasus gates rest right beneath the chevrons therefore giving only 36 symbols room to fit in. 36 symbols/9 chevrons= 4 symbols per each chevron. As you can see the Pegasus DHD only contains 36 symbols as well.
Just thought it will be interesting to point that out. Less number of combinations..3 less symbols, according to my math, yield significantly less number of different combinations that can be generated.

[Seastallion]

I'm asking because Milky Way Stargates have 39 constellation symbols while Pegasus has only 36 including the point of origin. I noticed that the symbols on Pegasus gates rest right beneath the chevrons therefore giving only 36 symbols room to fit in. 36 symbols/9 chevrons= 4 symbols per each chevron. As you can see the Pegasus DHD only contains 36 symbols as well.
Just thought it will be interesting to point that out. Less number of combinations..3 less symbols, according to my math, yield significantly less number of different combinations that can be generated.

They're different because for one thing, the Pegasus galaxy is MUCH smaller than the Milky Way, and thus would have far less potential stargate placements. Thus fewer possible symbol permeatations.

[Superman195]

Less symbols = less planets

[ancientaction]

AND, the ancients probally didn't explore all of pegasus anyway. they had the MW galaxy down. but the pegasus. well. theres a lot they didn't explore. because the wraith set them back.

[zpm!!]

and before they finished they encountered the wraith which used the stargates against the ancients. so they had to stop building them!!!

[zpm!!]

btw, ancient's, were always thinking big picture, the universe!!!!!!!!! don't forget!!!!

[Bragi]

And 36/4=9.

The reason there are only 36 symbols on the Atlantis gate is simple:

The Gate is digital, not analog in design. This means that in order for it to both make sense and look cool, each symbol had to end up directly below a chevron, something which the 39 symbol analog Gates can't do, they end up slightly off-kilter. They could have gone with 45 symbols, or 27, or 54. But the production team went with 36 because that still leaves over a billion possible Gate addresses while leaving the symbols nice and big for all of us to clearly see.

It's all because the production team wanted the Gates to look "newer" than the Milky Way Gates, and the easiest way to do that was to make them digital.

/edit-

The reason the planet-side DHDs you see in actual episodes look almost identical to the Milky Way DHDs is also quite simple. It's cheaper to make a few cosmetic changes to an existing set piece, than to make a whole new set piece. Especially when said set piece is going to get maybe 30 seconds of airtime all season long. That money is better spent on CGI for cool space-battles, or donuts.

It's the same reason that the Beta Gate had the Alpha Gate's POO for all those seasons.

[gkyun]

What about dailing to addresses in other galaxies? I assumed that you'll need the remaining 4 symbols as well.

[FallenAngelII]

What about dailing to addresses in other galaxies? I assumed that you'll need the remaining 4 symbols as well.

You don't necessarily do. After all, the symbols are different depending on what galaxy you're in, as well. Not that we've seen more than 2 galaxies' gates besides the Othalla one.

[Jarnin]

Here's a better question; why do the Milky Way galaxy gates have 39 symbols in the first place? The symbols on the gate represent constellations, right? But there are way more than 39 constellations; there are currently 88 of them. So why not 88 symbols?
Then again, the gate is supposed to be ancient, right? So ancient constellations should be the only ones used as symbols; There are 48 constellations on Ptolemy's list, so why not 48 symbols?.

But then there is the fact that there are modern constellations on the StarGate; Leo Minor was "created" by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. Scutum and Sextans in 1690. Norma and Sculptor in 1763. So explain how modern constellations end up on a device that is supposed to be millions of years old?

The truth is, the gate was designed by someone with no knowledge of astronomy. They opened up an encyclopedia, randomly chose 38 constellations, and tossed them on a movie prop which only got about 5 minutes of screen time. This person had no idea they'd be using his design for a television series that was going to last 10+ years.

Why do Pegasi gates have 36 symbols? Because it's easier to divide 360 by 10 rather than by 9.47.

[FallenAngelII]

39 symbols is more than enough. Do you know how many combinations can be made out of that?

[The Signal]

38x37x36x35x34x33, lotta combos for a 7 symbol address (PoO is constant so isnt in the equation, but if you didnt know the PoO it would be 39x38x37x36x35x34x33) with 8 symbols even more, and 9 even more still, as for the Pegasus gates, theres still tonnes of possibilities, but Pegasus is quite small, so they dont need as many combo's

[Bragi]

What about dailing to addresses in other galaxies? I assumed that you'll need the remaining 4 symbols as well.

The whole way the Gate system is supposed to work doesn't cut the mustard in real life. So just forget about it and accept that it works.

As for dialing from Pegasus to other galaxies... only the Atlantis Gate can dial other galaxies.

/edit

Well thank you extended cut of the movie (I just picked it up today for six bucks)!

I don't recall if it was in the theatrical release or not, but the "Ultimate Edition" DVD has a scene in which they analyze images from the MALP. They find that the symbols on the Abydos Gate do not match those on our Gate. They must represent constellations visible from Abydos. So the cooridinate system Daniel theorizes in the movie would work, given that each Gate had unique symbols.

However, it doesn't work for the tv show, becasue they decided that all of the symbols are the same for every Gate (this is due to the fact that the star's positions in the night sky are relative, and unique to each planet). Also, the chevrons didn't light up in the movie, and the dialing sequence was much different (aside from the earthquakes of course), all things I had forgotten.

[eta539]

Here's a better question; why do the Milky Way galaxy gates have 39 symbols in the first place? The symbols on the gate represent constellations, right? But there are way more than 39 constellations; there are currently 88 of them. So why not 88 symbols?
Then again, the gate is supposed to be ancient, right? So ancient constellations should be the only ones used as symbols; There are 48 constellations on Ptolemy's list, so why not 48 symbols?.

But then there is the fact that there are modern constellations on the StarGate; Leo Minor was "created" by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. Scutum and Sextans in 1690. Norma and Sculptor in 1763. So explain how modern constellations end up on a device that is supposed to be millions of years old?

The truth is, the gate was designed by someone with no knowledge of astronomy. They opened up an encyclopedia, randomly chose 38 constellations, and tossed them on a movie prop which only got about 5 minutes of screen time. This person had no idea they'd be using his design for a television series that was going to last 10+ years.

Why do Pegasi gates have 36 symbols? Because it's easier to divide 360 by 10 rather than by 9.47.

Just because humans didn't name the constellations until "recently", doesn't mean that the Ancients weren't aware of them.

[ancientaction]

to answer the question, how many address can you get with 39 symbols, a lot. 3.6611583222662077823200505687005e+45, thats if i did my math right...

if im wrong, its probally half that number....