3D Starmaps.

September 16, 2006 8:16 AM

Planning a jump to Barnard's Star? Making the Kessel Run in 11 parsecs? You'll need maps. Also available in a solid state format from Bathsheba Sculpture. (Previously)
posted by loquacious (11 comments total)

I can see my house from here!
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:34 AM on September 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

Hmm. Seems to me that he only really touches on the real difficulties with starmaps; If you're making a slow crossing between stars then I suspect that stellar motion is non-trivial, while if you've got some super-luminal nonsense transport then you've got a whole world of causality-centric confusion for which a 3D map showing how the universe appears from earth would likely be next to useless.
posted by Luddite at 9:21 AM on September 16, 2006

you know, I was driving around the Zork Empire last week, and I couldn't find BD-15"478 for the life of me. I had to stop at diner on BD-06"524's roaster and get directions. turns out I was only like 16 parsecs out of my way, but I got the waitress' digits out of it. they're still wriggling in the backseat.

anyway, thanks!
posted by carsonb at 9:25 AM on September 16, 2006

The internet makes you stupid.

Wow, an almost 40-1 edge for the wrong spelling! That's depressing. Don't use the internet as a reference, people!

But check out this magazine cover (?) (from this page of the first link): Canus Major was actually printed instead of Anus Canis Major.
posted by languagehat at 9:34 AM on September 16, 2006

Oh, and carsonb, there's a much better diner on the largest moon of the next planet out, if you're in that galactic sector again. Tell Xxwyrh I sent you and you might get a free dessert. And the waitresses are hot! (No, I mean really hot—don't touch them or you'll get third-degree burns. But your food won't get cold on the way to the table.)
posted by languagehat at 9:38 AM on September 16, 2006

languagehat - sweet. thx for the hot tip.

hey loq - damn that bathsheba sculpture site. it makes me soil my panties every time and then I get angry at my wallet.
posted by carsonb at 9:52 AM on September 16, 2006

(another) Map of the Known Universe
posted by MetaMonkey at 10:08 AM on September 16, 2006

Canus Major was actually printed instead of Anus Canis Major.

But, in the little circle on the bottom of the page, it does say "Canis Major". Weird.
posted by kenko at 11:03 AM on September 16, 2006

Previously...
posted by jbrjake at 12:20 PM on September 16, 2006

I just use GalacticGoogle maps. Printing them does take quite a bit of time and paper.
posted by Cranberry at 12:23 PM on September 16, 2006

The internet makes you stupid.

I like the idea of googlefight, but the implementation's flawed: it doesn't seem to recognise quotation marks. Searching Google itself for the two phrases, "Barnard's star" beats "Bernard's star" by a factor of about 5.

Results 1 - 100 of about 9,240 for "bernard's star".
Results 1 - 100 of about 48,100 for "barnard's star".
posted by senor biggles at 3:23 AM on September 17, 2006