|
Post by Sojourner on Mar 17, 2005 4:32:44 GMT -5
Unfortunately, that image doesn't show the feature that our solar system is supposedly in. The Orion arm is supposed to be connecting two larger arms - I can't see it, can you?
|
|
|
Post by CELS on Mar 17, 2005 8:41:43 GMT -5
Well, allow me to venture an uneducated guess, even if Kage didn't ask for my opinion I did study the galaxy and the spiral arm for quite a few hours back when I was working on a map, so here's my theory. One thing that makes the Orion arm fairly easy to identify on most galaxy maps, is that it is quite short compared to the other arms, and located between two long spiral arms (Perseus and Sagitarius). Ref: Technical mapWith these observations in mind, it's fairly easy to identify the shortest spiral arm on the picture supplied by Rogue Trader. I've tried to identify the spiral arms hereBut... as some of you may have noticed, the technical map above shows that the Orion arm is not in direct contact with the shiny galactic center ('central bar'). Possible counter arguments could be; "If it's not Orion, then what the hell is it? And where is Orion? Because Orion is certainly not one of the longer arms" and "It could be the low angle of the picture."
Assuming that we all agree that we've found the Orion arm, there's just the question of finding Sol. RogueTrader, do you know if this picture is based on NASAs astronomical data, or just a pretty illustration? In other words, are those stars represented on the picture actually real stars, or did some artists just use the 'spray brush'? Anyway, by comparing to the technical map I posted above, I'm going to make a humble suggestion of Sol's general location, since we're still awaiting input from Destecado and Sojourner. Sol
Ugh.. I just realised that the funny angle of this picture is going to make it difficult to estimate the size of the segmentae, the range of the Astronomican, etc.
|
|
|
Post by Destecado on Apr 7, 2005 10:38:04 GMT -5
I've located two images of the milky way galaxy which may help in creating a new galacti map. The first one is a bit static, but it is sharp and provides good definition of the seperate arms of the galaxy cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/images/mw.jpg[/img] This second image is a little more grainy, but is a better representation of how the galaxy actually exists. the page it came from also has enormous amounts of information about the placement of stars and nebulas within the neighporhood of Sol. Click on the link below this image to access an interactive page which lets you zoom in and out from Sol on the galactic map. anzwers.org/free/universe/5000lys.html
|
|