Last night I looked at the sky for the first time in months...
- Thread starter Tibeerius
- Start date
Living in the UK, finding a dark sky spot away from all the light pollution is as hard as finding a cloudless moonless night, let alone a cloudless moonless night under solar activity conditions suitable for intense aurora activity at our latitude. Yet on a clear night far away from the city lights (fortunately there is a darkish sky spot about an hour's drive away from my house) you can see so much depth in the night sky, and seeing the entirety of Ursa Major (not just the Plough) before you for the first time is a staggering experience.
An even more mindblowing experience was seeing the Southern Constellations for the first time. A while ago I was in New Zealand on holiday, and in an isolated spot on North Island, it was incredible to see with my own eyes new and unfamiliar constellations I only ever read about in books, such as Crux and Centaurus. Even better, the Milky Way was out in force that night, and to see the core region and inner arms light up the night sky in the southern hemisphere was one of the most memorable sights I've seen.
An even more mindblowing experience was seeing the Southern Constellations for the first time. A while ago I was in New Zealand on holiday, and in an isolated spot on North Island, it was incredible to see with my own eyes new and unfamiliar constellations I only ever read about in books, such as Crux and Centaurus. Even better, the Milky Way was out in force that night, and to see the core region and inner arms light up the night sky in the southern hemisphere was one of the most memorable sights I've seen.
same here, probably only a couple of hundred stars are visible due to skyglow and washout. but a few years ago i stopped in the middle of the Nullabor Plain, with no artificial lights within a hundred miles of me. the difference is incredible, the whole sky was completely full. it's a shame all of us can't see this every night, and many never will
Great post,
I had a friend come over and asked him what he thought of Elite, after watching a while he replied "I like a game to be a game with more to do than this"
I am not sure I should be worried by the fact that his comments made me question our friendship rather than the validity of the Elite experience..
I had a friend come over and asked him what he thought of Elite, after watching a while he replied "I like a game to be a game with more to do than this"
I am not sure I should be worried by the fact that his comments made me question our friendship rather than the validity of the Elite experience..
Last edited:
A friend doesn't need to like everything I like. There are other things we may have in common. Only if there's nothing left that we have in common, that I can question that friendship.
Fantastic post OP. It's the same feeling I originally got with the original back in 84. Shows to go how much Braben and Bell managed to convey with a few white lines on a black background.
This incarnation though has taken it a whole new level. It's like, just, wow.
One major difference between now and 84 though, back then I could go outside and see the Milky Way in all it's glory whereas now, all I see is a greyish black mess. No one is asking for the streets not to be lit, but can they not simply project that light down rather than up into the night sky?
This incarnation though has taken it a whole new level. It's like, just, wow.
One major difference between now and 84 though, back then I could go outside and see the Milky Way in all it's glory whereas now, all I see is a greyish black mess. No one is asking for the streets not to be lit, but can they not simply project that light down rather than up into the night sky?
Amen (sheesh, you should see the difference between my astrophotography before and after removing light pollution). That said, the in-game sky is way better than you'd see even from the best skies on the planet - far better colour than your eye would perceive for one thing, especially with that glowy HUD messing with your night vision!
Well said +1
I already love ED for what it is - SC'ing past a planet and seeing it darken into silhouette always gives me a buzz.
I'm lucky, My mum has a place 30 miles from Aberdeen with no houses around her, my late father was a keen amatuer astronomer and prided himself on being able to navigate in the Kuwaiti and Iraqi desert in the 60's by the stars, (saved his life on more than one occasion) one thing I would suggest everybody tries to see once in their life is the Aurora Borealis, or the southern version, now that from the flight seat in-game would be incredible, but I digress. every time I look up on a clear night, I get very dissapointed in their being no contrails or ship engines being visible. and I've probably got one of the best views in the UK for the night sky (when its clear!).
This is quite possibly the best reason for me to continue playing this game. For most of my life I've believed that I was born several hundred years too early. I know for a fact that had I been born in an age of space exploration, I'd have been an explorer. No doubt in my mind.
ED has given me that opportunity like no game ever has.
So thank you to you, and to Frontier.
Happy sailing amongst the stars.