Lightning!

[PlutonianEmpire]

Not lightning bolts or something, but lightning flashes, as seen from space. I realize that it would probably be difficult for celestia to determine where to correctly place the flash (so you don't see lightning in clear skies). The best way to implement it, I believe, would be via SSC code, like this for example:

Code: Select all

   Lightning {
      Color [ 0.500 0.500 0.550 ]
      Intensity          0.800
      FlashRadius        3.000
      Frequency         10
   }

Here, an intensity of 1.000 means the flashes are clearly visible in daylight, while 0.000, obviously, means they're barely visible at all in the night.

The flash radius would be measured in kilometers, Celestia's standard unit of measurement.

A frequency of 10 equals 100 flashes per second across the planet, like on Earth.

Here's how I could use the lightning feature on a planet I currently have orbiting Deneb...

Code: Select all

"Belle Hades" "Deneb" {
   Texture "belle hades.png"
   NightTexture "belle hades-night.png"
   BumpMap "belle hades-bump.png"
   BumpHeight 0.8
   Radius 12756

SpecularTexture "belle hades-spec.png"
   SpecularColor [ 0.50 0.50 0.55 ]
   SpecularPower 47.27790666
   HazeColor [ 0 0 1 ]
   HazeDensity 0.1
   # Oblateness 0.0001

   Atmosphere {
      Height 127.56
      Lower [ 0.500 0.500 1.000 ]
      Upper [ 0.400 0.400 0.800 ]
      Sky   [ 0.000 0.000 1.000 ]
      CloudHeight 12.756
      CloudSpeed -8
      CloudMap "belle hades-clouds2.png"
   }

   Lightning {
      Color [ 0.500 0.500 0.550 ]
      Intensity          1.000
      FlashRadius        3.000
      Frequency        100
   }

   EllipticalOrbit
   {
      Period            -1142.0
      SemiMajorAxis     415.743
      Eccentricity       0.030
      Inclination        3.000
      AscendingNode     90.000
      LongOfPericenter  90.000
      MeanLongitude    105.000
   }

   RotationPeriod        -622.900
   Obliquity               00.000
   EquatorAscendingNode   00.000
   RotationOffset      00.000
   
   Albedo           0.55

   #Rings {
   #   Inner   17000
   #   Outer   44000
   #   Texture "gc_rings_06.png"
   #}
}

Please give this poor little world some lightning....

[selden]

You can do it now, for a short while, anyhow, using Beginning and Ending directives and NightTexture.

Animated textures are anticipated in some future release of Celestia.

[PlutonianEmpire]

That would mean putting the beginnings and endings just a second apart over and over again, and the computer I have probably can't handle that very long...

[PlutonianEmpire]

The lightning doesn't have to made of animated textures. You can simply "shine a flashlight" on the clouds, not from space, but from the inside.

[jgrillo2002]

You can do it now, for a short while, anyhow, using Beginning and Ending directives and NightTexture.

Animated textures are anticipated in some future release of Celestia.

Are you sure about that becuase I put that in the SSC for jupiter and I dont see any effect. I even made a night texture. Here is the Code

Code: Select all

   Lightning {
      Color [ 0.500 0.500 0.550 ]
      NightTexture "jupiter-lightning.*"
      Intensity 5
      FlashRadius 30.000
      Frequency 10
      Beginning      2378496.54237
      Ending      2816787.54237
   }

Can you please tell me if thats right or not. if not. please provide the correct code.

Thanks

Zack

[PlutonianEmpire]

It was a suggestion--Celestia DOESN'T actually have this feature yet.

That's why I posted this topic, so I could spread the idea.

[jgrillo2002]

oh Crap I thought it was actual. sorry guys

Zack

[PlutonianEmpire]

oh Crap I thought it was actual. sorry guys

Zack

That's okay.

We all make mistakes.

[Star Lion]

Hmm...does celestia support animated *.gif files?

[PlutonianEmpire]

Probably not.

[dirkpitt]

There are animated solar flares in rthorvald's sun model. Not sure how it's done but perhaps the idea could be adapted.

[PlutonianEmpire]

Where can we find that?

[maxim]

The solar flares are cloud textures rotating around an invisible sphere body, orbiting the sun very close.

maxim

[srosenow_98]

Just so you guys know, those aren't flares in that animation. Those "loop" like things are actually called "filaments" (or conversely, they become known as a "prominence" when viewed against the blackness of space). A flare and a filament are two different things entirely.

Filaments are formed in magnetic loops that hold relatively cool, dense gas and plasma suspended above the surface of the Sun. When you look down on top of them they appear dark because the gas inside is cool compared to the hot photosphere below. But when we see a filament in profile against the darkness of space it looks like a giant glowing loop -- these are called prominences and they can be spectacular.

A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (almost always above or around the edge of sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays.

For reference, visit http://www.spaceweather.com

[Hungry4info]

Putting a small dim star inside would be a nice idea... however... it would illuminate that entire side of the planet. Celestia doesn't currently draw the terminator (day/night barrier) realistically (look at any Hot Jupiter system, the terminator should be farther back, but it isn't).

Once this is adjusted, then putting small stars would be a viable idea.

[Cham]

Just so you guys know, those aren't flares in that animation. Those "loop" like things are actually called "filaments" (or conversely, they become known as a "prominence" when viewed against the blackness of space). A flare and a filament are two different things entirely.

Filaments are formed in magnetic loops that hold relatively cool, dense gas and plasma suspended above the surface of the Sun. When you look down on top of them they appear dark because the gas inside is cool compared to the hot photosphere below. But when we see a filament in profile against the darkness of space it looks like a giant glowing loop -- these are called prominences and they can be spectacular.

A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (almost always above or around the edge of sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays.

For reference, visit http://www.spaceweather.com

Hahaa !

[Hungry4info]

Other than being somewhat off subject, I'm not sure how that post was so funny.