text | @silent | Oct 21

[callada]

Hey everyone,

Have a look at the images attached to this post. These were taken of the same location in the sky at the same time of day. August 1, September 7, October 4 in that order. The fourth picture is the same as the third, other than my own addition to it to highlight some of the more obvious changes.

I haven't finished going through all of the images yet but the stars are going out. Sometimes one a week, sometimes one a night. Averages out to something like ten to twelve per month from what I can see. Maybe more, since the tablet camera doesn't pick up every star all that well, and the trees get in the way.

For now, I have enough of a star chart to navigate by, so long as those stars don't go dark. I'll let you all know if Doctor Ingram or I see a change in the rate of losses.

If anyone can control cloud layers and wants to give me a clear sky every now and then, I'd appreciate it.

((Here's a cool animated version! Thanks, Xy!))

Comments

@daylit. | text.

[sunborne]

[ it would have been a while since anyone has heard or seen of daylight after what occurred a few days prior.

and, even then, his message is surprisingly brief and subdued. ]

Is it possible to tell the missing stars' distance from each other? Are the vanishing stars' placement revealing a pattern or some sort?

[callada]

Haven't seen a pattern. It looks random from here. Don't know of any way to tell how far apart these stars are - brighter might mean closer to us but might just mean brighter.

I'm no astronomer though. Any ideas on how someone could figure that out?

[sunborne]

You can measure the distance of a star by measuring something known as the stellar parallax. You need a consistent star we know the distance of and lots of time.

I'm not a stellar catrographer - that's Dialup, since she was my fireteam's intelligence - but I do know that it takes at least six months to do this method. Maybe more, since we might need to redo the charting if the fixed star point is loss.

[ because stars are going out. ]

[callada]

Good to know. I plan to keep taking images as frequently as I can since the stars will change position in the sky through the year. Anything I have now might be useless in a few months for getting around.

But I don't know how to find the distance to an initial star from here to measure this parallax. Dr. Ingram might know.

If any others who understand astronomy are reading this, please chime in.

[lunchbreaks]

Dearest Silent,
That is indeed concerning. Do you know how far these stars are from us?
Yours,
Aziraphale.

[callada]

This is Rosinante, by the way. I know I don't talk much on the network. I should have signed my message.

If there's a way to find out how far away the stars are, I don't know it. I can't tell if they're getting closer to us or not. To me the stars look like they blink out at random. Doesn't mean there's no pattern, just that I haven't spotted it yet.

[lunchbreaks]

Rosinante,
Ah, I should have guessed it was you. My apologies.

They're also all bright ones. Which means there could be thousands of others that have gone out that are too dim for us to see.
Yours,
Aziraphale.

[callada]

Right. That's my worry. It's more widespread than we can know.

But if we're not worried about individual stars then we can still use it to estimate a rate of extinction based on what we can see.

It's a reminder to act fast. Any one of those stars might have life on the worlds around it.

un: jupitersgrace

[notthatjason]

I can't fly high enough to get to the clouds...I could still see if there's a way to control them from the ground though I suppose. We could try drawing the night sky instead of taking pictures. I mean, they had to track the stars someway before electronics, right?

Can I ask...why have you been charting this anyway or what made you think to look in the first place?

[callada]

[He can fly??]

Been drawing it. Taking photos across dates and times lets me make charts easier. I go out and take the images, then sit and work on them somewhere with a table. Got two versions going since the stars move over the course of 24 hours. I'd call it day and night, but you know.

As for why, it's a navigation tool. I have a compass, but not everyone does. It's a useful backup for when the sky is clear. Then I realized there are other things you can do with it all, too. The stars' rotation confirms that this world has a 24-hr clock just like the tablets do. There's a pair of two western stars that seem to be mostly stable in the sky, which is helpful. And now all this.

[notthatjason]

[Sometimes you just forget to mention things like your coolest power ever.]

I get it. I still refer to parts of the day as morning based on when I got out of bed. We just don't really have a term for 24 hours of night.

[Which is weird. Cause they have terms for like: morning, noon, dusk, dawn, etc. But he realizes that's not really the point.]

Good idea. Well, next time you try to sketch and it's cloudy let me know. It would be a good excuse to test out if my power has a reach like that.]

[callada]

Will do, thanks for the offer.

You know, if you can fly, I want you with me next time I'm out in the woods. Could use that for scouting routes.

@freddie1967

[sauntered_downward]

Could also be clouds blocking them from view.

[callada]

I thought that too, but clouds that small would move on after a few minutes. They seem to be consistently absent.

[sauntered_downward]

Maybe there's no wind. Lots of calm nights in this place.

[callada]

There have been clouds that moved. But also, it only takes a few hours for the stars to rotate visibly around the sky. They would have become visible once they had moved out from behind those particular clouds, even on a still night.

@kingofwei

[pure_havoc]

Well, that's...disturbing.

[callada]

Yes. Already was, but it's worse to see it in action. Entire stars, gone.

[pure_havoc]

It is easy to think of the world eaters but there is also this: the stars are one of the few lights we still have here. There is no sun, and yet there is a moon and stars. Are they eating other worlds or is this a way to continue to remove light from this one?

[callada]

If they knew and cared enough about us to consume entire stars to make it darker here, why not come for us directly?

I took what Robin and Dr. Ingram said to suggest they don't know we're here right now.

@cuttingedge; text

[knifecollecting]

The stars don't come back?

Where are you taking these pictures? Might be worth having multiple cameras working.

[callada]

Not yet.

By the shore as much as possible. Least obstructed view of the sky there. Not sure what multiple cameras will show but feel free.

[knifecollecting]

I'm not sure either, but it can't hurt to have people pay attention. Right?

[hext]

i absolutely hadn't noticed this, or thought to check. i'm glad you did.
perhaps if the ferry, or some other cargo carrying method, is able to resume — rastus could provide you both with a powerful telescope setup? see what else you find?

[callada]

Might ask. Are you an astronomer?