Galaxy: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Milky-Way-Galaxy.png|thumb|300px|Milky Way galaxy in Elite Dangerous]] | [[File:Elite-Dangerous-Milky-Way-Galaxy.png|thumb|300px|Milky Way galaxy in Elite Dangerous]] | ||
[[Elite Dangerous]] has a 1:1 scale simulation of the '''Milky Way galaxy''' based on real-life scientific principles, data and theories. It is a barred spiral galaxy with around 400 billion [[star system]]s. The known systems like [[Sol]] are modeled on galactic charts. Planets and moons rotate and orbit with 1:1 scale in real-time, thus constantly changing a system's environment. At the center is a supermassive [[Black Holes|black hole]] [[Sagittarius A*]]. The galaxy is divided into 42 [[Galactic Regions]]. | [[Elite Dangerous]] has a 1:1 scale simulation of the '''Milky Way galaxy''' based on real-life scientific principles, data and theories. It is a barred spiral galaxy with around 400 billion [[star system]]s.<ref name=":6">[https://starwalk.space/en/news/the-milky-way-galaxy Milky Way Galaxy: Facts, Location & How to See It From Earth] - 30 June 2026</ref> The known systems like [[Sol]] are modeled on galactic charts. Planets and moons rotate and orbit with 1:1 scale in real-time, thus constantly changing a system's environment. At the center is a supermassive [[Black Holes|black hole]] [[Sagittarius A*]].<ref name=":6" /> The galaxy is divided into 42 [[Galactic Regions]]. | ||
== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
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== Milky Way == | == Milky Way == | ||
[[File:Milky-Way-Panorama-1500ly-Above-Galactic-Plane.png|thumb|250px|Milky Way Panorama 1500ly above galactic plane]] | [[File:Milky-Way-Panorama-1500ly-Above-Galactic-Plane.png|thumb|250px|Milky Way Panorama 1500ly above galactic plane]] | ||
''Elite Dangerous'' allows players to travel to almost every visible [[Stars|star]] from normal space. The constellations change with parallax as you explore the galaxy, and the night sky viewed from Earth is | The Milky Way is around 13.6 billion years old.<ref name=":6" /> It is 105,700 light-years across and weighs 1.5 trillion solar masses.<ref name=":6" /> The name Milky Way is derived from the ancient Greeks and Romans.<ref name=":6" /> They thought the [[Galactic Plane|galactic plane]] resembled a river of milk.<ref name=":6" /> | ||
''Elite Dangerous'' allows players to travel to almost every visible [[Stars|star]] from normal space. The constellations change with parallax as you explore the galaxy, and the night sky viewed from Earth is accurate.<ref name=":0">[https://www.elitedangerous.com/en/features/our-galaxy Elite Dangerous: Our Galaxy]</ref> Some star systems and regions require [[permits]] to access. Certain star system clusters are permit locked for future content. | |||
[[File:Planet_lights_ring_system.png|thumb|250px|Planet with city lights and a ring system.]]During development [[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] gathered as much information as they could about the 160,000 known star systems of our galaxy.<ref name=":0" /> We know the temperature, size and metallicity (the periodic elements that make up the star's composition) of those stars. We also know the mass distribution of the Milky Way.<ref name=":0" /> The uniquely custom built, [[Stellar Forge]] takes that information, rolls time backwards toward the Big Bang, and simulates from there the composition of hundreds of thousands of celestial bodies using the first principles that astrophysicists believe govern our universe. It uses the nebula hypothesis to simulate the composition and orbit of all the undiscovered [[stars]], [[Planets|exoplanets]], [[moons]] and [[Black Holes|black holes]] in our Milky Way.<ref name=":0" /> We end up with a huge amount of technical information about each star and its [[planets]], [[moons]] and asteroid fields, such as temperature, chemical composition and orbit.<ref name=":0" /> | [[File:Planet_lights_ring_system.png|thumb|250px|Planet with city lights and a ring system.]]During development [[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] gathered as much information as they could about the 160,000 known star systems of our galaxy.<ref name=":0" /> We know the temperature, size and metallicity (the periodic elements that make up the star's composition) of those stars. We also know the mass distribution of the Milky Way.<ref name=":0" /> The uniquely custom built, [[Stellar Forge]] takes that information, rolls time backwards toward the Big Bang, and simulates from there the composition of hundreds of thousands of celestial bodies using the first principles that astrophysicists believe govern our universe. It uses the nebula hypothesis to simulate the composition and orbit of all the undiscovered [[stars]], [[Planets|exoplanets]], [[moons]] and [[Black Holes|black holes]] in our Milky Way.<ref name=":0" /> We end up with a huge amount of technical information about each star and its [[planets]], [[moons]] and asteroid fields, such as temperature, chemical composition and orbit.<ref name=":0" /> | ||