High-Level Project Summary
The night sky’s variables are immensely diverse where they are constantly changing. However, such variations are very tiny for us humans to observe while glancing at the night sky with our naked eyes. So, we came up with INFINITY. INFINITY simulates the space and stars along with planetary physics using various physics functions. These simulations include the periodic change of brightness, lifespan, and rate of change of the stars. This feature allows us to create an educational tool to teach the user about stellar variability via simulation. Our time multiplier feature allows us to amplify the star brightness variability making it more detectable and accessible for study.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Infinity models the stellar variables that govern the brightness cycle of a star. To achieve that, we used mathematical equations that describe such cycles, and computed the rate of change increasing or decreasing the brightness of the stars accordingly. We also used some arbitrary rates for some brightness changes to demonstrate the concepts we are teaching to the user.
Thanks to THREEJS, we were able to create custom variables, stars, etc. and rigorously specify their characteristics ranging from the rate of change of the brightness to the color based on data we researched from NASA and other sources.
For our frontend, we used HTML, CSS and JavaScript in addition to visual animations to make a well-designed and responsive UI.
What makes our application unique is the fast forward time feature allows us to amplify the changes in stellar brightness which will help showcase such a change when the rate of change is too slow.
We hope that this will promote space related concepts to a wider audience which will give more exposure and more interest in the field. Moreover, it can be used as a tool to aggregate information about stars. If other stars must be simulated, then the data sources can be swapped around to simulate the required behavior, or more stars can be added changing the specific characteristics accordingly. In addition, we can transfer the ideas of simulating stellar brightness and processing to apply in other areas such as solar energy applications. By detecting the brightness of the light shining on the solar pane, and using existing data related to the cycle of the sun and its brightness, we can predict the electrical energy output of the solar panel after a specified time interval.
Space Agency Data
https://gea.esac.esa.int/archive/documentation/GEDR3/Data_processing/chap_simulated/sec_cu2UM/ssec_cu2_variab.html
Hackathon Journey
After researching and finding so much data about stellar variability, we saw the potential in utilizing this data and presenting it in a simplified manner that is easily understandable by the end user. Making sense of the data was and is still a difficult and demanding task. We saw the opportunity in making use of existing data to open up new horizons and new potential for innovation and creativity. That is why we chose this challenge.
Along the way, we had many rendering and design issues. To overcome these hurdles, we carefully refactored the code, and made use of the html browser tools to monitor errors. For star simulation, we simulated every star in a separate project and made sure it was working, and then integrated it to the main application.
Moreover, in many instances we had to decide not to implement some features due to time pressures and other factors.
In the end, it all worked out.
We learned about 3d modeling and simulation. Moreover, we tackled many design related concepts to make sure our website is user friendly. We learned about animations for the sake of making our website more attractive.
We learned about many interesting concepts related to stellar variability, star brightness cycles, the equations that govern these cycles, and some general info relating to stars and astronomical objects.
We learned how to collaborate effectively, share our ideas as a team, and manage working on the software solution using version control applications and other hosting services. We enhanced our communication and presentation skills by explaining our idea to other people in a simplistic manner that doesn't misrepresent the essence of our project.
We would like to thank the local space apps team for their support because we wouldn't have made it here without their guidance. I would also like to thank the team because our combined efforts and knowledge brought this project to life.
References
Resources:
- Nasa:
data.nasa.gov
nasa.gov/open/data.html
nasa libraries at DuckDuckGo
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nasa+libraries&atb=v335-1&ia=web
HQ Library | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/library
Stars and Galaxies | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/content/stars-and-galaxies
The Sun | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/sun
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://astroquery.readthedocs.io/en/latest/gaia/gaia.html
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/cepheids.html
- threejs planet models:
https://observablehq.com/@visnup/threejs-star-map
https://experiments.withgoogle.com/chrome/globe
Tags
#stellar, #stars, #web_parallax, #time