Regarding nebulae

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HwyThunder
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Regarding nebulae

Post by HwyThunder » Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:44 pm

From our distant observation point a nebula appears cloud-like. What would it be like to travel through a nebula? Would it seem like one was in a cloud, or would the particles be so sparsely distributed that it would appear to be open space?

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Chris Peterson
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 07, 2019 4:07 pm

HwyThunder wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:44 pm From our distant observation point a nebula appears cloud-like. What would it be like to travel through a nebula? Would it seem like one was in a cloud, or would the particles be so sparsely distributed that it would appear to be open space?
Nebulas are still hard vacuums. From inside, the level of the background would be slightly higher (the sky would be slightly less black). Flying into one, or living in one, might not be apparent at all without instruments.

No hiding from angry Klingons in nebulas, like WW2 dogfighters in the clouds.
Chris

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geckzilla
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by geckzilla » Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:48 am

Some of those star-forming regions are pretty dense, though. Take the dogfight to a cosmic scale with many lightyears between one viewpoint to another, and things could be significantly obscured. I don't doubt that someone inside a dust cloud dense enough that the dust is cold would have issues seeing out of it. If the dust is cold, it's not receiving any light.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.

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Chris Peterson
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by Chris Peterson » Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:05 pm

geckzilla wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:48 am Some of those star-forming regions are pretty dense, though. Take the dogfight to a cosmic scale with many lightyears between one viewpoint to another, and things could be significantly obscured. I don't doubt that someone inside a dust cloud dense enough that the dust is cold would have issues seeing out of it. If the dust is cold, it's not receiving any light.
Sure, something like Bok globules. And we do see nebulas that we can't easily see through. But as you say, we're talking light years. And in the absence of FTL rockets, light year scale dogfights are pretty unexciting.
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neufer
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by neufer » Fri Mar 15, 2019 3:35 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:05 pm
geckzilla wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:48 am
Some of those star-forming regions are pretty dense, though. Take the dogfight to a cosmic scale with many lightyears between one viewpoint to another, and things could be significantly obscured. I don't doubt that someone inside a dust cloud dense enough that the dust is cold would have issues seeing out of it. If the dust is cold, it's not receiving any light.
Sure, something like Bok globules. And we do see nebulas that we can't easily see through.

But as you say, we're talking light years. And in the absence of FTL rockets, light year scale dogfights are pretty unexciting.
Unexciting for an outside observer, perhaps.

But for the participants zooming around at ~0.999999999998c
a light year can be traversed in about a minute.
Last edited by neufer on Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Chris Peterson
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by Chris Peterson » Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:04 pm

neufer wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 3:35 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:05 pm
geckzilla wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:48 am
Some of those star-forming regions are pretty dense, though. Take the dogfight to a cosmic scale with many lightyears between one viewpoint to another, and things could be significantly obscured. I don't doubt that someone inside a dust cloud dense enough that the dust is cold would have issues seeing out of it. If the dust is cold, it's not receiving any light.
Sure, something like Bok globules. And we do see nebulas that we can't easily see through.

But as you say, we're talking light years. And in the absence of FTL rockets, light year scale dogfights are pretty unexciting.
Unexciting for an outside observer, perhaps.

But for the participants zooming around at ~0.999999999996c
a light year can be traversed in about a minute.
True... although when you look at the time relationship between two objects each traveling at relativistic speeds, from each other's frames, it gets awfully complicated.
Chris

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neufer
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by neufer » Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:15 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:04 pm
neufer wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 3:35 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:05 pm
Sure, something like Bok globules. And we do see nebulas that we can't easily see through.

But as you say, we're talking light years. And in the absence of FTL rockets, light year scale dogfights are pretty unexciting.
Unexciting for an outside observer, perhaps.

But for the participants zooming around at ~0.999999999998c
a light year can be traversed in about a minute.
True... although when you look at the time relationship between two objects each
traveling at relativistic speeds, from each other's frames, it gets awfully complicated.

.
.
Well...that's what makes it exciting :!:

[Join The Space Force.]
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neufer
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Re: Regarding nebulae

Post by neufer » Sat Mar 16, 2019 11:18 pm

neufer wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 3:35 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:05 pm
geckzilla wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:48 am
Some of those star-forming regions are pretty dense, though. Take the dogfight to a cosmic scale with many lightyears between one viewpoint to another, and things could be significantly obscured. I don't doubt that someone inside a dust cloud dense enough that the dust is cold would have issues seeing out of it. If the dust is cold, it's not receiving any light.
Sure, something like Bok globules. And we do see nebulas that we can't easily see through.

But as you say, we're talking light years. And in the absence of FTL rockets, light year scale dogfights are pretty unexciting.
Unexciting for an outside observer, perhaps.

But for the participants zooming around at ~0.999999999998c
a light year can be traversed in about a minute.
Fun fact: A relativistic [Space Force] dog fighter circling around a radius of 1 lyr
  • undergoes a centrifugal force of ~ 1 g:

    V2/R = c2/(c year) = 300,000,000m/s / 31,000,000sec ~ 9.81m/s2
Art Neuendorffer

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