100,000 stars • Hacker News Board

Re: 100,000 stars

#71

Post by TomGullen » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 1:40 AM UTC

That is incredible, wasn't expecting much.

Re: 100,000 stars

#72

Post by esusatyo » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 1:49 AM UTC

As cool as this is, if you have an iPad check out Star Walk. It's really really cool, and if you hold your iPad up to the sky it'd show you what the sky would look like if there isn't any pollutions.

Re: 100,000 stars

#73

Post by mtgx » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 1:57 AM UTC

equalarrow wrote: post #20

WOW, that is amazing. I'm always blown away by stuff like this, where you can actually get a sense of how small we all are and how distant even the closest neighbor stars are. I just close my eyes for a minute and think (or try to), what would it be like for those people that are finally able to reach, say, Vega (I know it's not the closest). Sure, this is not a big deal in sci-fi, but for reality, it's pretty mind b…

Same here, but I doubt we'll ever be able to do that without some serious genetic enhacements to the point where we might not be recognizable as humans, or an even better solution, transferring our minds to machines, and then being able to live thousands of years or more and make it more possible for us to travel there.

But it seems a lot more likely that we'll just send some strong AI robots to send us back the data until then.

EDIT: I suggest checking out Space Engine. It seems to cover more than one galaxy and being able to change the viewing/moving speed feels like being in a Star Trek starship. Going through space like that feels a bit unsettling:

http://en.spaceengine.org

Re: 100,000 stars

#74

Post by kaffiene » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 3:02 AM UTC

scott_s wrote: post #56

equalarrow wrote: post #20

WOW, that is amazing. I'm always blown away by stuff like this, where you can actually get a sense of how small we all are and how distant even the closest neighbor stars are. I just close my eyes for a minute and think (or try to), what would it be like for those people that are finally able to reach, say, Vega (I know it's not the closest). Sure, this is not a big deal in sci-fi, but for reality, it's pretty mind b…

Obligatory buzz-kill, Charles Stross on why we're unlikely to leave the solar system: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2639456

Obligatory response: history is littered with people who have said that things are impossible which have since been done. I don't believe that the realm of the possible has just stopped expanding right now. Do you?

Re: 100,000 stars

#75

Post by krsunny » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 3:54 AM UTC

secondForty wrote: post #29

This is REALLY COOL! Could someone explain how this is built or give an overview of how it works? In the 'about' page http://www.chromeexperiments.com/detail/100000-stars/ it says WebGL and CSS3D, but I'm wondering how they fit together and what does what. Is there a better way to view the source than just 'view source' in chrome? I know a number of programming languages and I'd like to learn more about how this proj…

https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js/ - That should get you going. Download that and take a look at all the examples and how they are made. Here is a good book on webgl too - http://www.amazon.com/WebGL-Up-Running-Tony-Parisi/dp/144932...

Re: 100,000 stars

#76

Post by elliott34 » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 4:55 AM UTC

cryptoz wrote: post #34

taigeair wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah makes us feel small.

Life on Earth has existed for about 26% of the age of the Universe. Feel any bigger? (3.6 billion years / 13.75 billion years)

Then if you imagine how long the Internet has existed compared to the universe, all of this hullabaloo on HN becomes even funnier .

Re: 100,000 stars

#77

Post by codyromano » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 5:01 AM UTC

Small typo: should be "farthest man-made object" instead of "furthest." Otherwise, awesome job.

Re: 100,000 stars

#78

Post by tydok » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 5:24 AM UTC

"There's a lot of space out there to get lost in."

Re: 100,000 stars

#79

Post by altrego99 » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 5:31 AM UTC

shanelja wrote: post #6

This is without a doubt one of the coolest and most beautiful webgl experiments I have seen in the last few years, it actually struck a real chord with me - music, lighting, effects, the zoom and the sheer beauty of it. For those people unlucky enough to not be able to load this app (it took me quite a while) here is a particularly fantastic image I took (without asking or any right to, of course) - http://shanearmst…

I am guessing you have liked this too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U

Being a video it is not interactive, but definitely does strike something in me. It's almost the Total Perspective Vortex.

Re: 100,000 stars

#80

Post by hayksaakian » Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 5:41 AM UTC

Aaaaaaaaaand chrome mobile fails once again. What's the point of chrome mobile if it's never updated? The stock aosp browser has seen more updates than Google's own browser. The only feature of this god damn browser is idiocy. /rage