Artificial Eclipses

[Veln]

I don't think much has been said about this XD but please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to bring up the topic of objects in space causing an eclipse for a planet.

 

If an organization in DU builds a space station between a planet and the sun, will that planet experience an eclipse if the space station is big enough to block out the sun?

 

If the answer to the above is yes, then if an organization builds a mobile space station and puts it in orbit around the planet at the correct speed and angle, would they be able to keep part of that planet in a perpetual state of darkness?

 

NOTE: The second question may or may not be inspired by a hilarious article I read about flat earthers thinking NASA was flying a blanket in front of the sun to simulate an eclipse to trick us because the earth is actually flat.

[ATMLVE]

While we of course don't know details of things like lighting and shadows in the game, its probably inherent that an object in front of a planets light source would cast a shadow on the planet. So I would think it would cast shadows, yes..

 

Now, it may not work perfectly like this; some flaws could be shadows having a max distance, texture errors, or the world just doesn't really get any darker, i.e. the sun isn't really creating all the light but rather the game renders the world light when there is a sun in the sky. 

 

Also, the concept youre talking about, building an object at the L1 point between a planet and it's star, would in real life be a quite efficient way to wipe out most life on Earth, one way I thought of after watching yet another movie where an advanced alien race feels that the best way to kill everyone is to resort to WWII dog fights. 

[Lethys]

That would actually be pretty neat, though I'm not sure if it's really possible.

 

L1 is not only of interest for mass destruction but also for scientific purposes xD

 

Would be neat if we had such points to position sensors

[RightBigToe]

Assuming that lighting and shadows works perfectly, noting ATMLVE's comments...

 

My understanding was that there will be no orbital mechanics for the solar systems (ie no planetary movement around other bodies like planets around the sun).

 

Therefore, all you would have to do is build a station that's as wide or wider than the width of the sun's rays that affect a specific point on the planet.  Now if the planets don't move around the sun this becomes a very simple calculation, even if the planet itself rotates, you could specifically target a location to place in a partial or total solar eclipse.

 

[CyberCrunch]

@RightBigToe unfortunately construct shadows are limited to a few 100 meters, and will probably not be visible from orbit.

 

But if I remember correctly at Gamescom planetoids do obscure the sunlight on a global scale.

I think I actually saw an eclipse where the moon of Alioth was shaded by the planet while the sun passed behind Alioth!

 

However since all planetoids are static, eclipses should happen at exactly the same time every day! It would be actually a very unique and pretty feature to have on a planet. xD

[RightBigToe]

18 hours ago, CyberCrunch said:

@RightBigToe unfortunately construct shadows are limited to a few 100 meters, and will probably not be visible from orbit.

 

But if I remember correctly at Gamescom planetoids do obscure the sunlight on a global scale.

I think I actually saw an eclipse where the moon of Alioth was shaded by the planet while the sun passed behind Alioth!

 

However since all planetoids are static, eclipses should happen at exactly the same time every day! It would be actually a very unique and pretty feature to have on a planet. xD

 

Would be pretty cool if the arkship was eclipsed daily

[Zabba_MacCracken]

So let's say, I am using solar panels to power my station on the planet, it should then be possible to create an eclipse with a massive ship so that the station has no more power at the end  would be hilarious