100,000 stars • Hacker News Board

Re: 100,000 stars

#111

Post by nyrath » Sat, Nov 17, 2012, 9:47 PM UTC

gerhardi wrote: post #87

I wonder if there are clusters where distance between neighbouring stars are much less than with Sun and Proxima Centauri. Would these locations provide better opportunities for space faring civilizations to reach other star systems?

I'm no expert but I think the answer is "No", due to other problems.

Distances are closer in Globular Clusters. Alas, those are "metal poor", so the only planets are gas giants like Jupiter.

Distances are closer in Open Galactic Clusters like the Pleiades. Unfortunately those cluster tend to disperse. By the time a space faring civilization has evolved, the stars are no longer close.

Distances are closer in the Galactic Core. Unfortunately that is a high radiation environment due to Sagitarius A* (the mega-black hole at the center of the galaxy_ and all the nebulae the hole is dragging in.

Short answer: places where the distance between stars is closer are unlikely to have space faring civilizations.

Of course there is always Zeta Reticuli A and B.

Re: 100,000 stars

#112

Post by batgaijin » Sun, Nov 18, 2012, 5:48 AM UTC

typpo wrote: post #43

mey wrote: post #21

Warning: Scientific accuracy is not guaranteed. Please do not use this visualization for interstellar navigation.

If you are interested in scientifically accurate models in webgl, you may like this asteroid simulation, which models objects in our solar system in an astronomically accurate manner: http://asterank.com/3d/

that's a really cool simulator! what's the license for it? I can't find it on your github account.

Re: 100,000 stars

#113

Post by danenania » Sun, Nov 18, 2012, 9:45 AM UTC

kragen wrote: post #108

dennish00a wrote: post #5

I need to learn 3D graphics for some of my scientific projects. Specifically, I want to rotate clouds of points just as shown here. I have no idea where to start with doing this, however. Can somebody point me to a good tutorial or other resource in 3D graphics?

I don't know of a good one, so I'll write one here. This focuses on how things work, rather than how to use existing APIs, because I've basically never used GL. What's below is short and doesn't have much math, but it should be enough to allow someone who knows linear algebra and 2-D graphics to both understand and rederive most of 3D graphics. To rotate a point cloud, you multiply each point by a rotation matrix to…

Wow, thanks for posting this!

Re: 100,000 stars

#114

Post by shn » Sun, Nov 18, 2012, 1:08 PM UTC

67:2 [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving -

67:3 [And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?

67:4 Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued.

Re: 100,000 stars

#115

Post by kragen » Mon, Nov 19, 2012, 5:03 PM UTC

danenania wrote: post #113

kragen wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know of a good one, so I'll write one here. This focuses on how things work, rather than how to use existing APIs, because I've basically never used GL. What's below is short and doesn't have much math, but it should be enough to allow someone who knows linear algebra and 2-D graphics to both understand and rederive most of 3D graphics. To rotate a point cloud, you multiply each point by a rotation matrix to…

Wow, thanks for posting this!

Sure, I hope it's helpful!