Author Topic: Night in the Core  (Read 141 times)

fairytalejedi

  • Jedi Council Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 908
  • Grand High Saber-Twirler
    • View Profile
Night in the Core
« on: October 29, 2017, 05:00:10 pm »
So the question came up, since our solar system is much further from the galactic core than the Core worlds of Star Wars, what would the night sky look like on a planet like Alderaan. And here's an image I found which I thought was cool. It's an artist's rendering of what the night sky might look like inside a globular cluster, where the star density is similar to what the Core Worlds would be like in the GFFA.

Member of the WotC Star Wars community from 2002-2013

Winner of UDB #15, #22
Winner of TDJ #1

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


StevenO

  • Global Moderator
  • Grandmaster of the Jedi Order
  • *****
  • Posts: 4939
  • Dark or Light? Why choose when neither is right?
    • View Profile
Re: Night in the Core
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2017, 10:03:34 pm »
I could see it being even brighter.  Imagine an unobstructed view of the milky way except with those "distant" stars being much closer.  I could easily see those core worlds not really having a true night as we have because with enough stars close by the sky would constantly be lit up with surface visibility at least as good as we have on Earth with a full moon.
Over 14,500 post on the WotC board before they closed the SAGA board.

fairytalejedi

  • Jedi Council Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 908
  • Grand High Saber-Twirler
    • View Profile
Re: Night in the Core
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2017, 02:49:10 pm »
True, you could have daytime and twlight, basically. And many stars could be visible even during the day.
Member of the WotC Star Wars community from 2002-2013

Winner of UDB #15, #22
Winner of TDJ #1

StevenO

  • Global Moderator
  • Grandmaster of the Jedi Order
  • *****
  • Posts: 4939
  • Dark or Light? Why choose when neither is right?
    • View Profile
Re: Night in the Core
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2017, 06:02:21 pm »
I'm not so sure on stars during daylight but that would all depend on the sun and the atmosphere.  Looking up apparent magnitude online https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitude_(astronomy) there may not be many stars visible during the day.  The table is saying that in our experience only the Moon and perhaps Venus could be seen in the Earth daytime skies regularly with an occasional celestial event popping in.  Even with more stars that are closer would they be close enough to penetrate the daylight? 

Probably a few.
Over 14,500 post on the WotC board before they closed the SAGA board.

mudtop

  • Jedi Council Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 778
  • There is no death, there is the Force
  • Location: Texas
    • View Profile
Re: Night in the Core
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2017, 05:02:57 pm »
Oh! This is right up my ally! The sun has an apparent magnitude of -27 while the full moon has an apparent magnitude of -13. So the sun is ~400 times brighter than the full moon. The average distance between stars in the globular cluster or "core" (which by its nature has a vague boundary) is only 1 lightyear, which is important in that it is less than 10 parsecs ~30 light years. Stars in the core tend to be older giants (and therefore brighter) with typical absolute magnitudes of ~-3-4. The absolute magnitude of a star is the apparent magnitude at 10 parsecs. So the stars would appear to be much brighter to someone standing on the planet. These could even begin to rival a full moon and of course you have dozen upon dozens of these things near by so I would say the artist rendering doesn't have enough bright stars and that the star are also not bright enough. Additionally the super-massive black hole at the center could be even brighter some reaching absolute magnitudes of -28! but that is of course only very close to the exact center. The real problem is that all those stars would screw with a planets orbit so its unlikely any planet could actually support life in the "core". Now back near the edge then sure a planet might be able to survive and their night sky would problem look something like in the picture.   
I am White/Blue.
I am both lawful and rational. I'm extremely orderly, and rely on complex rules and laws, upholding them whenever I can.
At best, I am organized and law-abiding. At worst, I am bureaucratic and totalitarian.