Earthlike world, Alpha Centauri.

[qso1]

Just an exercise in imagination and a graphical representation of a hypothetical Earthlike world in orbit around Alpha Centauri "A".<br /><br />Although I tried to squeeze the stars into my small image squares, those are not meant to be anything more than showing when both stars are visible in daytime skies and when one would be visible in daylight while the other at night.<br /><br />Position 1...if one were standing at the noon time position on the surface of the planet, Alpha "A" would of course be overhead while "B" would be in the approximate 9 oclock position in the sky.<br /><br />Position 2...Alpha "A" at noon, "B" would be visible overhead approximately midnight. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[tony873004]

I don't know what program you're using since your image is still "awaiting approval'. But you'd love Celestia, if it isn't what you used <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />

 

[qso1]

I have Celestia but I basically just put something together in Microsoft paint. This because while Celestia has some of the planets discovered around other stars, it does not for Alpha Centauri because no planets have yet been confirmed orbiting AC. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[mlorrey]

You can invent planets in Celestia, you know.

 

[qso1]

I didn't realize you could invent planets in Celestia. I'll have to check that out, thanks mlorrey. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Celestia?

 

[qso1]

Celestia is astronomy S/W similar to Starry Night but free which makes it an awesome product considering what it can do. I was unaware that you could build your own planets in it until mlorrey pointed that out. I still have not found out how. Haven't had much time. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[mlorrey]

The fact that you can download and add new objects (like I downloaded Comet Tempel when I was studying using it as a refuelling station for Jupiter missions) implies that if you can produce the same sort of data files as these additional objects are, then you can create new objects. You need to be more than the casual user.

 

[qso1]

I agree one needs to be more than the casual user but I only recently found Celestia and I just haven't had time to really look it over thoughroughly.<br /><br />I've used Starry Night for several years and put a comet into a close approach with Earth in the year 2043 so I could have accurate visuals for a story.<br /><br />I did find that Celestia has some of the planets that have been discovered around other stars such as 51 Pegasi. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[hansolo0]

Can you do an example and pictures with Jupiter as a star ala 2010? Would it be pretty much the same? I've always wondered if we would have night anymore, it would only be at certain times of the year I think, and would a star in place of Jupiter make it any warmer on Earth?<br /><br />

 

[mlorrey]

I seem to recall that Clarke did some calcs on this for his 2010 novel's stellation of Jupiter. How bright a star there would be depends on the mass of the star and how far along its sequence it is. If it is orbiting the Sun in Jupiters orbit, it would have to be a relatively low mass red dwarf, at best. The mass ratio between the two determines how far from the center of the Sun the common point of rotation is.