Forum > Shadow World
Where exactly is the Ceril VII Star System.
kmanktelow:
Hi, Terry et al,
Well, I downloaded 'System Maker for Celestia' which can take and modify existing *.ssc files- allowing the addition of Planets, Moons, Spacecraft around existing Stars. I duplicated the Epsilon Eridani 3 files and modified them (spending plenty of time swearing as I converted miles to Kilometres and millions of miles to Astronomical units!)
Mind you, it still means learning about orbital eccentricities, semi-major axes, Longitude of Pericenters, etc... ???
Stuck the whole caboodle around HIP 993, only to find that mean surface of Kulthea would be- cue drum roll- 531 K (About 257.85 C or 496.13 F.)
Whoops!!!! :o
I've tried sticking it around HD 1082 and HIP 1082, and the mean surface temperatures would be ridiculous to say the least....
Although, around HIP 1082 the surface temperature would only be around 98 C
*sigh*
Looks like we might have to insert a suitable star into a suitable location into the *.stc file, then work from there. Or, attempt to find a suitable G-II class star roughly the same distance as the Ceril system is supposed to be away from the Sun.
Ahhhh, the joys of Astronomy! ::)
As for other Astronomy packages, they will be using similar databases to Celestia: Hipparcos, SAO, HDE, etc. The extra database available from the Celestia Motherlode adds over 2,000,000 stars to Celestia. When you view the Solar System from outside the Galaxy, you literally get a shell of stars centred around the Sun- I've got no ideas how wide across it is, in Lightyears. But, I would imagine that it includes just about every star within 100 LY of Earth. The Ceril system, according to Spacemaster is only 89.58 LY away....
So, I'd better keep digging in the Star Browser!
All the Best,
Kevin.
dutch206:
Wet blanket time, here. Does your campaign really require that level of realism? Will your players EVER ask to see Kulthea in relation to Earth? ???
pastaav:
--- Quote from: kmanktelow on July 12, 2008, 04:46:15 PM ---Looks like we might have to insert a suitable star into a suitable location into the *.stc file, then work from there. Or, attempt to find a suitable G-II class star roughly the same distance as the Ceril system is supposed to be away from the Sun.
--- End quote ---
Check what the program gives for temperature on earth...my bet would be that the program does not properly model a planet with greenhouse gases. To get a planet that is suitable for living you must have a system that in the absence of life is much colder than what we have on earth. The presence of greenhouse gases have a great impact on the resulting temperature of the planet.
kmanktelow:
Hi, Pastaav, Dutch206,
Celestia gives the Earths' mean surface temperature as 271 K, whilst wikipedia lists it as being 287- about 14 C. So, there's about 16 degrees difference- which isn't too bad considering it's a free program.
As near as I can tell, the mean surface temperature is modelled from the Spectral Class, surface temperature and size of the nearest solar body(ies- in the case of binary systems.) The problem with the stars tried, is that they are generally more massive than our Sun, even if they have a slightly lower surface temperature. But, this still gives a much greater energy output- hence a much higher mean surface temperature.
I was looking at 20 Leonis Minoris, which a web source gives a G2V star- but for some reason Celestia only lists it as a G1V star (cooler). Could be that the Celestia database needs updating based on newer stellar surveys... ???
Hmm, I can see Dutch206's point, in the Players knowing where Kulthea is in relation to the Earth (unless you are using Spacemaster). But, it would be nice to model the system so that you could for instance accurately show your players the moons in the night sky, the constellations- or for the GM something that would be handy would be the ability to work out when and where the next solar eclipse will be.
And, from Terry's point of view- he's spent so much time developing Kulthea, etc, it would be nice for him to be able to actually see his creation 'working'. (Or does that make him sound like Dr. Frankenstein?) ;)
Or at least that was my initial thought.
All the Best,
Kevin.
kmanktelow:
Hi, All,
No Textures, asteroids, only Kulthea has any moons, etc. But, the planets are in place, and orbiting quite nicely!
I've upload a low-res screen grab, and will try to add some more as time permits.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28576267@N02/2667428784/
(Just hoping the link works- it's the first time I've used Flikr!)
All the Best,
Kevin.
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