I would like to do a unit with a couple of classes on the solar system. Which is keen, but I need to have the radii of the planets in the solarsystem significantly larger than they are in celestia so that they can be seen from a distance. It's very difficult to get the 'big picture' with celestia despite how incredible it is for detail. Could anyone mebbe make an 'enlarged planet' addon while keeping the _relative_ radii of all planets correct? (also, possibly excepting the sun's too.).
Lemme know. I can be reached at:chirdon@pitt.edu
Chris
Enlarged planets - wanted by teacher
Chris,
You can do it yourself very easily.
One way to do it would be to edit the file /data/solarsys.ssc
(You can use Notepad under Windows)
and add a 0 or two after each of the radii that you want to enlarge.
Don't forget to increase the orbits of the moons to match. Otherwise they'll be flying around inside the planets!
The other way to do it is to reduce the SemiMajorAxis of each of the orbits of the planets so they're closer together. Then you only have 9 values to change instead of many more. (If you decide to do that, don't forget to comment out the "CustomOrbit"s by putting a # at the beginning of those lines. The "CustomOrbit" specification overrides the "EllipticalOrbit" definitions.)
Bear in mind, of course, that using the correct sizes and distances helps to reinforce just how big the universe is and how small we are instead of misleading people to think it's small and cozy.
Using the correct values also would let your students model eclipses, the various spacecraft trajectories and planetary flybys, and lots of other astronomical events. Following a space probe as it speeds by a planet can be a lot of fun. If you change the sizes and orbits, none of those things can come out right.
I hope this helps.
You can do it yourself very easily.
One way to do it would be to edit the file /data/solarsys.ssc
(You can use Notepad under Windows)
and add a 0 or two after each of the radii that you want to enlarge.
Don't forget to increase the orbits of the moons to match. Otherwise they'll be flying around inside the planets!
The other way to do it is to reduce the SemiMajorAxis of each of the orbits of the planets so they're closer together. Then you only have 9 values to change instead of many more. (If you decide to do that, don't forget to comment out the "CustomOrbit"s by putting a # at the beginning of those lines. The "CustomOrbit" specification overrides the "EllipticalOrbit" definitions.)
Bear in mind, of course, that using the correct sizes and distances helps to reinforce just how big the universe is and how small we are instead of misleading people to think it's small and cozy.
Using the correct values also would let your students model eclipses, the various spacecraft trajectories and planetary flybys, and lots of other astronomical events. Following a space probe as it speeds by a planet can be a lot of fun. If you change the sizes and orbits, none of those things can come out right.
I hope this helps.
Selden