Moonchance
Any time a large battle occurs leaving more than 100k debris behind, the owner of the planet where the battle took place receives a moonchance, and if lucky, a moon. Each 100k debris gives a 1% chance of producing a moon, up to a maximum of a 20% chance with 2,000k debris.
The most used way to generate the debris is to crash a fleet of light fighters; 84 destroyed light fighters is 1%, and 1667 light fighters is 20%. Alternately, 1667 small cargos can be used, as they create no damage to the "fodder" defenses of the defending planet, and are easier to be defeated, though they are slightly more expensive.
There is no need to go beyond 1667 light fighters, as 20% is the highest moonchance percentage available: more will not increase the odds.
It must also be noted that on some universes, the debris field ratio is higher (for example on uni 40, it is 40% instead of the standard 30%). In this case, only 3/4 of the ships must be sent. For light fighters, this means a fleet of 1250 for 20% moonchance.
The fleet needed to crush the kamikaze fleet is usually harder to attain due to its costs (including deuterium) and high end ships.
Many people opt for the alternative of using 112 Battleships instead of Light fighters for Moonchances for the following reasons:
They have the same resource building rate (metal 3 / crystal 1).
They do less damage to the crushing fleet.
They do way less damage to the planet defenses than 1667 light fighters, which make them perfect for turtle-like moonchances.
They can be easily crushed with a fleet of battlecruisers.
The fleet points don't increase that drastically, so you're not that noticed.
Battleships can do other tasks in lower numbers before the moonchance happens, unlike the light fighters.
Rules
When creating moonchances with your friends, certain rules are typically observed.
If the person receiving the moonchance is lower ranked than the person giving the moonchance, then the receiver may keep the debris.
If the person receiving the moonchance is higher ranked than the person giving the moonchance, the receiver may not keep the debris (it is considered pushing); therefore, just compensation must be made for the resources of the DF to satisfy the pushing rules. A reverse moonchance is often offered in trade. Goodbye hits of lower ranked players on higher ranked players are not permitted. When in doubt, check with a Game Operator.
Moon swaps are allowed, so long as the higher ranked player does not gain more resources than they send in return.
Permission is required for all moonshots from a Game Operator. For .org, the address is http://support.ogame.org .
Important: A GameOperator needs to be informed ONLY if the lower ranked player intends to transport resources to the higher ranked one.
Probability
The probability of getting a moon is capped at 20% maximum. No matter how many times you try to get a moon, each try will only have a 20% chance of creating a moon for you, as an event does not get more likely just because it has not occured earlier. Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler's_fallacy for more information.
Please note that on Barym you only need 3/4 of these numbers due to it being a special server.
Ship Amt. (for 20% Chance) Metal Required Crystal Required Deuterium Required
Light Fighter- 1667- 5001k- 1667k- 0
Heavy Fighter- 667 - 4002k- 2668k- 0
Cruiser- 248 - 4960k- 1736k- 496k
Battleship - 112 - 5001k- 1667k- 0
Small Cargo- 1667- 3334k- 3334k- 0
Large Cargo- 556 - 3334k- 3334k- 0
Colony Ship- 223 - 2230k- 4460k- 2230k
Battlecruiser- 96- 2880k- 3840k- 1440k
Bomber- 90 - 4500k- 2250k- 1350k
Destroyer- 61- 3660k- 3050k- 915k
Death Star - 1 - 5000k- 4000k- 1000k
Recycler- 417 - 4170k- 2502k- 496k
Espionage Probe - 6667- 0 - 6667k- 0
For the usual attempts LF, SC, BS or probes the following are the values for the common DF percentage Universes.
Ship Amt. (for 30% DF) Amt. (for a 40% DF) Amt. (for a 70% Ship to DF)
Light Fighter 1667 1250 715
Small Cargo 1667 1250 715
Battleship 112 84 48
Espionage Probe 6667 5000 2858
Subject: How to get or make a Moon 
