Ultimate space simulation software

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by Watsisname
04 Mar 2023 08:48
Forum: General Discussions
Topic: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:
Replies: 17
Views: 2930

Re: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:

Allright, I think this is a nice demonstration. Probably the best I can think of. Using the above measurements of lux vs. time through a total solar eclipse, a Pluto equivalent illumination happens about 30 seconds before and after totality. (We can confirm this by considering the fraction of the s...
by Watsisname
04 Mar 2023 07:45
Forum: General Discussions
Topic: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:
Replies: 17
Views: 2930

Re: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:

And how much of a difference would be between day and night Pluto vs the night side of our Moon? The dayside landscape of Pluto is darker than the Moon's, but you might struggle to tell except with a side-by-side comparison (especially because the Moon's surface is intrinsically so much darker, alb...
by Watsisname
04 Mar 2023 07:18
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Astrophotography
Replies: 661
Views: 202742

Re: Astrophotography

Plugging the current orbital elements into Stellarium, it predicts a magnitude of 0.77 with the comet 23 degrees from the Sun on September 28, 2024, and 0.34 magnitude at 14.5 degrees from the Sun on October 6th. The earlier view will probably be better -- being almost 10 degrees further from the Su...
by Watsisname
04 Mar 2023 02:11
Forum: General Discussions
Topic: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:
Replies: 17
Views: 2930

Re: Space Engine light levels are (wildly) inaccurate. Examples and Possible workaround inside:

Noon on Pluto is comparable to 15 minutes before the sunrise on Earth. The landscape is therefore quite dark. Realistically this is what the surface of Pluto should look like at noon: I don't think I agree. I don't think a typical landscape 15 minutes before sunrise on Earth looks that dark (that's...
by Watsisname
01 Mar 2023 10:26
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Astrophotography
Replies: 661
Views: 202742

Re: Astrophotography

Yep, the first G3-level (Kp~7) storm we've had in a while! I could see red and green curtains reaching about 45° above the horizon from here in Bellingham, through small gaps in overcast. Visibility even reached as far south as Colorado which is impressive!
by Watsisname
19 Feb 2023 22:15
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites
Replies: 158
Views: 54518

Re: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites

A magnet is really not a good tool for finding meteorites. (Or at least it should not be your main tool, but simply one diagnostic among several, the most important being your eyes and knowledge of what different types of meteorites look like.) A magnet will of course stick to iron meteorites, and a...
by Watsisname
16 Feb 2023 14:01
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites
Replies: 158
Views: 54518

Re: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites

Awesome. That was a quick recovery! Looks like an ordinary chondrite at a glance (though can't rule out a more exotic stone). Looking forward to seeing how this gets classified. Normally chondrites are cheaply available on the market, but this being a documented and predicted  fall will surely make ...
by Watsisname
14 Feb 2023 04:19
Forum: Off-topic Discussions
Topic: Show off your work
Replies: 559
Views: 218888

Re: Show off your work

I will not stay. All forums always lead to bans. I am just showing the screens and that's it. Can you edit for me and move my posts to separate topic? I have some more. So, your only  reason for joining this forum, after being banned from everywhere else, is to post nothing but AI generated images,...
by Watsisname
13 Feb 2023 00:41
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites
Replies: 158
Views: 54518

Re: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites

Another meteoroid detected before atmospheric entry, and then observed. Spectacular. :)

Image

Video of the entry:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1624967147708420103
by Watsisname
11 Feb 2023 02:14
Forum: Off-topic Discussions
Topic: Global population hits 8 billion
Replies: 13
Views: 2868

Re: Global population hits 8 billion

I take bigger issue with calling it "the  sixth mass extinction" than recognizing that the extinction rate is currently significantly greater than the "background extinction rate". The latter is a strong claim to make, especially given the biases in determining past extinction ra...
by Watsisname
07 Feb 2023 00:52
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Science and Astronomy Questions
Replies: 1937
Views: 625985

Re: Science and Astronomy Questions

Mid, are they even sure about that period?  I read that they aren't even sure if it will ever return.  Maybe it has a parabolic path or even hyperbolic? Its orbit is changing during its plunge through the solar system. Inbound its eccentricity was slightly less than 1 with an orbital period of abou...
by Watsisname
06 Feb 2023 08:21
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Science and Astronomy Questions
Replies: 1937
Views: 625985

Re: Science and Astronomy Questions

I know, but in my light polluted part of the country, the only thing that I can really see from here are stars (and only the really bright ones) so it would be interesting to see a green object in the sky.  The only other comet I've ever seen was Hale Bopp.  Even with binocs and from a dark sky, th...
by Watsisname
04 Feb 2023 18:03
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Science and Astronomy Questions
Replies: 1937
Views: 625985

Re: Science and Astronomy Questions

Green comets are not rare. The vast majority of them are green (the color comes from C2 molecules which are common component of a comet's coma), and ones bright enough to see with the naked eye show up every few years on average. Sometimes there are several in the same year. I've even photographed t...
by Watsisname
04 Feb 2023 06:28
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Science and Astronomy Questions
Replies: 1937
Views: 625985

Re: Science and Astronomy Questions

Is it really spherical though or more like a torus?  I always envisioned it like a torus because there is the "hole" in the middle (where the planets are.) At closer distances it is more like a disk extending out from the Kuiper belt, but at larger distances it transitions to a gigantic a...
by Watsisname
01 Feb 2023 19:04
Forum: Science and Astronomy Discussions
Topic: Science and Astronomy Questions
Replies: 1937
Views: 625985

Re: Science and Astronomy Questions

Yes, and to be able to do with with some semblance of safety we would have to create some version of the alcubierre drive and keep it active until we're in a "safe" zone where local space is free of these objects. I have always thought that the solution to the Fermi paradox is technologic...