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Author Topic: Betelgeuse  (Read 18530 times)

C. Shawn Smith

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Betelgeuse
« on: January 22, 2011, 02:45:14 am »

So COMPLETELY off-topic, a lot of news agencies have been reporting the likelihood of the star, Betelgeuse, exploding by 2012.  Scientists have been predicting the time-table for this event for the last 50 or 60 years, but it's not until this time (with the looming "Mayan Prophecy Doomsday Event" of December 2012) that this is coming to the forefront of mainstream media.

While scientific evidence "points" to this possibility within the next few years, it could happen within the next one MILLION years as well.  And despite doomsday conspiracy nuts, the effects it will have on the Earth will be more or less negligible, beyond a few weeks of 24-hour daylight, if that.  When Betelgeuse gives up the ghost, as it were, it will be as "big" (by apparent diameter) as the full moon, and "may be" as bright as our own sun, although this is still somewhat in question.

Still, if it happens in my lifetime, I'll be thankful to see it.  A few weeks of 24-hour sunlight will be interesting, to say the least, and will probably be one of the most talked-about events in the annals of human history.  But the worst thing that could possibly happen to the Earth is that neutrinos will bombard us.  What effect will they have?  Nothing.  We won't even notice it, save for the neutrino detectors buried deep underground.

If it does happen, Cameni and Angrypig need to be able to simulate it in Outerra's night sky :D.  Good luck on creating the procedurals necessary for the simulation  :lol:   Could make our back-story for the game rather interesting though, don't you think? :)
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cameni

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2011, 03:02:02 am »

Hmm, having another light source comparable in brightness to our sun would be a complication for atmospheric scattering computation and shadows. Performance will be lower not only because it will need to double the computations but also several optimizations that assume a single source will have to be omitted.

 But otherwise it's doable. Yes, would be nice to experience  :)
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C. Shawn Smith

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2011, 03:16:50 am »

That's actually interesting.  Gives a lot of insight on the nature of the engine and lighting conditions.  If it's not a difficult task, you should do it just for laughs :)  Would be interesting to see a bona fide supernova in the "night sky," so close to home.

At least do it for a sample video/screenshot for the laugh.  I've been reading too many conspiracy websites lately, so my interests are piqued.  The "hollow Phobos" websites are really capturing my attention lately, so I'm a bit biased :D.  I hate conspiracy websites, yet at the same time I can't stop reading them.  I think it has more to do with the human mindset, especially here in the US, than with anything else.  We're a nation of nutcases.  And I say that with all the love and affection I can possibly muster for my fellow citizens :D
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What we think, we become -- Buddha
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The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be. -- Carl Sagan
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- Yes, I'm still around ... just been busy with other projects ;)

cameni

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2011, 03:35:13 am »

I'm reading on Wikipedia that it should be visible during day, not that it will be as bright as the sun. Well, that won't be a problem, I had to suppress the visibility of normal stars anyway (a hack until proper HDR works).

Night time illumination is not being handled yet, we'll have to model human eye response in low light conditions. I guess Betelgeuse will be somewhere in between moon and sun, probably asking for yet another model.
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ZeosPantera

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2011, 04:54:45 am »

When the moon is in place you two can go and make super-nova's. Until then get back to work you nutjobs..

Solar flares and nutrinos... sheesh
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C. Shawn Smith

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2011, 12:09:43 pm »

There's a few different scenarios.  It's hard combing through the sensationalism of the media reports to find accurate information (which even differs among astronomers).  Some say as bright as the sun, others say the full moon.  Everyone agrees that it will be as wide as the full moon in apparent diameter (which will be cool in and of itself :))
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What we think, we become -- Buddha
There is no spoon -- Neo, The Matrix
The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be. -- Carl Sagan
Outerra is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be. -- Me :)
- Yes, I'm still around ... just been busy with other projects ;)

Vicious713

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Betelgeuse
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2011, 03:30:30 pm »

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376132,00.asp

These guys seem to care less about the whole thing O.o take it with a grain of salt, but i agree, the star woulda had to have gone super hundreds of years ago, and if thats the case, how can we predict what it's up to within the accuracy of one year?
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