So I visited a pulsar...

kamenjar · Dec 30, 2014

The only thing pulsating is my cockpit temperature warning!

I didn't bring radar emissions detector with me, and I'm no expert to know whether it's supposed to be pulsating in visible spectrum. but something of interest is that PSR J0108-1431 is supposed to be 280 LY from Earth, but in the game it is 684.
Anyways, the journey was fun so far and here it is:

(The gravity influence line is on the top right)

Besides Empire stations hundreds of light years from civilization with luxury docks, a few black holes, I've also come across this eye candy:

And 17 solar masses black hole view to the galactic core way below the galactic plane:

So close...

Edit: This is how the pulsar sounded

[video=youtube;ZS695yIbfbE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS695yIbfbE[/video]

Bobo · Dec 30, 2014

Ha, imagine if they did make that sound.
Scary lil buggers aint they, tiny white dot, super hot ship....

sammael · Jan 1, 2015

I too would like to know whyPSR J0108-1431 is 600+ LY from Earth when in reality it's supposedly 420 LY (and some sources claim even less). I was under impression all the known stellar bodies are in their proper places, that was one of the main selling points for me.

Which begs to ask the question, what is the proper place? Is there any given star catalogue to which ED adheres ? Googling some of the stellar bodies yields conflicting results often wildly varying in magnitudes of hundreds of LY. Yea I get it that 25000 LY and 25800 LY are pretty much the same since the bigger the number the less difference +- X% makes, but for example 200 LY and 600 LY that's night and day difference.

BACKER#50040 · Jan 1, 2015

sammael said:
I too would like to know whyPSR J0108-1431 is 600+ LY from Earth when in reality it's supposedly 420 LY (and some sources claim even less). I was under impression all the known stellar bodies are in their proper places, that was one of the main selling points for me.

Which begs to ask the question, what is the proper place? Is there any given star catalogue to which ED adheres ? Googling some of the stellar bodies yields conflicting results often wildly varying in magnitudes of hundreds of LY. Yea I get it that 25000 LY and 25800 LY are pretty much the same since the bigger the number the less difference +- X% makes, but for example 200 LY and 600 LY that's night and day difference.

Because it's been over 1000 years since that data was considered to be recent?

Julian Korolev · Jan 2, 2015

So, I've visited this page several times in the last two days only to listen to that song. I have to say, well done, sir! Beautiful imagery as well.

IndexCase · Jan 2, 2015

BACKER#50040 said:
Because it's been over 1000 years since that data was considered to be recent?

Nah, either the astronomy is correct or it isnt. There is no room for saying it is accurate and then using creative interpretation when it isnt. If they say it is accurate it should be.

Exard3k · Jan 2, 2015

Great screenshots...I always love explorers share their findings.

Neutron Stars and Pulsar are soooo.....extreme. Around 10^11 kg per cm³, the gravity must be so gigantic.

Alric · Jan 2, 2015

Who estimates 280LY from Earth?
Wiki has 424 but other sources have it at around 770LY distance.

Brusilov · Jan 2, 2015

Thanks for the tune

Tigga · Jan 2, 2015

BACKER#50040 said:
Because it's been over 1000 years since that data was considered to be recent?

I'm no astrophysicist but...

I'm fairly sure 1000 years is nothing at all at galactic time scales. It takes light 1 year to go 1 light year. The position of other stars will change a little, of course, but a quick google shows ~500km/s is a fairly sensible upper guess, which is ~0.002c. Ie. 2LY in 1000 years. Apparently we're moving toward Vega at 30km/s, or 0.0001c, or 0.1LY in 1000 years.

Space is big.

Janichsan · Jan 2, 2015

kamenjar said:

These two are the brown dwarves and not the neutron star, I suppose?

I always wondered whether the distortion effect also affects objects within the system, like companion stars, and not only the background. Well, seems as it does not.

Commander Dave · Jan 2, 2015

kamenjar said:
I didn't bring radar emissions detector with me, and I'm no expert to know whether it's supposed to be pulsating in visible spectrum.

Pulsars predominantly emit in the radio areas of the EM spectrum although they spew out a lot of stuff at X and Gamma wavelengths too.
Many do emit in the visible spectrum too, but there are none that have their predominant output in the visible spectrum that I'm aware of.

Great shots by the way. Going to have to take a trip out there.

nexxo · Jan 2, 2015

kamenjar said:
Edit: This is how the pulsar sounded

[video=youtube;ZS695yIbfbE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS695yIbfbE[/video]

Is that why we have a Disco scanner?

(geddit?)

Ogidch · Jan 2, 2015

sammael said:
I too would like to know whyPSR J0108-1431 is 600+ LY from Earth when in reality it's supposedly 420 LY (and some sources claim even less). I was under impression all the known stellar bodies are in their proper places, that was one of the main selling points for me.

Which begs to ask the question, what is the proper place? Is there any given star catalogue to which ED adheres ? Googling some of the stellar bodies yields conflicting results often wildly varying in magnitudes of hundreds of LY. Yea I get it that 25000 LY and 25800 LY are pretty much the same since the bigger the number the less difference +- X% makes, but for example 200 LY and 600 LY that's night and day difference.

This could be a completely noob answer, but how does the ingame data measure how far away it is, example:

The direct route from your location/object to object in other words a straight line

OR

Via jump routes through the galaxy which would make the distance longer

kamenjar · Jan 3, 2015

Ogidch said:
Via jump routes through the galaxy which would make the distance longer

Doubt it. Routing algorithms are complex. You can see how slow it draws routes on the in-game maps and why it can't do routes for over 100 LY. There's a fairly easy solution to the 100 LY limit though. You could simply limit the candidates by doing quadrants, but it requires work/coding.

WalterHWhite · Jan 3, 2015

In game measurements will be a straight line, "as the crow flies"

Had wondered about which star catalogues/sources the game uses. I suspect they maybe averaged from different sources or fuzzied up the distances/degrees a little to prevent automation. Just a thought.

Great screenshots OP, I've yet to see anything like that in the early days of my travels.

Eros · Jan 3, 2015

Astronomical distance measure is performed using a number of methods, and star charts are often NOT super accurate due to many factors. SOME stars that are variables act as standard candles in that all stars that vary in the way observed are the same, and fit into a very narrow spectral type and such you can observe that star and say how far away it is based on its mean brightness etc... Others you cant. Pulsars are not very bight typically, are extremely small and such, most measurement should be done via parallax... Think of it as the same effect as looking at an object that is nearby you, opening and closing each eye left then right, and and seeing a nearby object move with respect to the background.

Also... seriously? anyone who says Astronomy is either right or wrong... anyone who thinks that never really did any real science... science is never right or wrong, mostly science is in the grey between those two states.

It is likely that a set of star charts where taken and used face value with a few changes or modifications to fit it into the 'generated' milkyway, so you dont have a huge cluster close to Earth and then nothing. Remember... the 1/r^2 rule is a cruel mistress

Its the same for people who go out and explore and say... hey 90% of all the stars out there are small red things!?! where are all the yellow ones!

Then you realise that the statement "The sun is just an ordinary star" is completely garbage.

Great shots OP

Cross · Jan 3, 2015

Pulsars most likely do pulse in visible wavelength, or at least some of them do. The Crab Pulsar is a good example.

Janichsan · Jan 3, 2015

Cross said:
Pulsars most likely do pulse in visible wavelength, or at least some of them do. The Crab Pulsar is a good example.

True, but the emitted light is confined to two very narrow beams that rotate with the spinning star. If you aren't looking at it from the right direction, you'll probably see nothing.

Guyperson · Jan 5, 2015

Staring down the barrel of a pulsar at point blank range doesn't seem like a great idea, but then neither does flying into the corona of a main sequence star.

It's too bad close companion objects don't interact with each other. We should be seeing stars stretched into oblong shapes or accreting matter from one to the other.