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Setting up astronomy aware virtual/augmented worlds

Virtual world with Digital Terrain Model, historic monuments and motion of visible celestial objects

• Introduction
• Initial tools for making astronomy aware virtual world
• Progress on making an astronomy aware virtual world
• Augmented reality tool
• In search of co-developers
• Acknowledgments

Introduction

Creating an astronomy aware virtual world tool that can dynamically (under user control and preferable interactive/real-time) project the visible celestial objects (like visible stars, sun and planets) in a virtual world consisting of a DTM (Digital Terrain Model) projection of the environment and the (historical) monuments.

Initial tools for making virtual world

• GIS program (GenesisII) to make DTM (Digital Terrain Model) and height (gray scale) texture files
  
A GIS (Geographical Information System) is of course important as an underlying data system, but it is not the primarily goal of my project. Some VRML worlds though function as a GIS.
• program to make from height (gray-scale) texture files a VRML file (UnrealToX3D)
  
• program to make VRML objects such as stones and buildings (Vizx3D)
• planetarium program (Skymap) to calculate the celestial object paths over time
• a wrl and js editor that includes utf8 coding (VrmlPad)
  
• GPS or OS-map readings for the monument locations
• spreadsheet for making graphs fitting the cube projection (skybox) for VRML (using gnomonic projection)
• drawing programs (psp and SkyPaint)
• VRML plug-in to render the DTM and the monuments


• for shadow casting in Maeshowe; POV-Ray (using vrml2pov) and VRML has been used (blaxxun).
  


• video tools (like HyperCam and VideoMan). See for an example here.
• others? (let me know)

Existing projects, involving the above tools, have created a VRML world and Real video of the Boyne Valley, Ireland and monuments Wéris, Belgium. A world including time steps, so including the forth dimension for stepping through the ages, is the Maeshowe project in Orkney. Another 4D world is related to rebuilding Newgrange for the Burning Man 2004 festival.

The astronomy aware virtual world (a combination of making a realistic sky [with moving celestial objects] and a DTM) is an unique and not yet available product and I am sure this can be made a good (shareware) tool for use in the archaeocosmology environment.

Some people/organisations working in the archaeoastronomy are very interested in such a virtual world combining astronomy and DTM:

• my own Geniet projects
• the International Institute of Astroarchaeology
• the Pampa of Nasca project of HTW Dresden
• The Neolithic monument complex of Thornborough, North Yorkshire
• others? (let me know)

• ORBIT!, a VRML world of the sky
• Tour of the universe
• three-D starmap
• a 2D planetarium in ArcView (a well known GIS program).
• Starry Night 4.x, is build around 3D, perhaps it coud be expanded (I am discussing this with the developers).
• Database of visible stars
• Computing planetary positions
• Astronomy and numerical software source codes
• GeoVRML
  
• others? (let me know)

Progress on making an astronomy aware 4D virtual world

• A VRML time console.
Periods like: sec, min, hour, day, tropical year, lunar tropical month, lunar synodic month, Metonic- and Saros cycles, etc. Manual/automatic changes of time (back and advance). Date is always presented in Gregorian calendar date.
Thanks to Bill Angel: an input form (using input fields instead of clicking) is available for simple changes of time and date.
• A VRML star map.
This star map (up to 9000 stars) has been generated for the epoch interested. Sample constellation are provided. In the below mentioned prototype the star movement has not been fully implemented.
• A VRML simulation of the sun and moon
The sun and moon path (incl. astronomical refraction) for specific epoch are in the VRML world. It simulates also the light by these objects.

BS Contact VRML 6.2, Cortona 4.2 and/or blaxxun Contact 5.104 are recommended for this type of world.
A few features don't work in Cosmo Player 2.1.1 (Windows) so it is not a good VRML plug-in for this type of world.

I learned a lot making this prototype, so if you want to exchange experience, let me know; I can give you access to my experience page.

Augmented reality system

A real-time tool than can project on a view of the real world the moving celestial objects in former times. Thinking here about using a VR helmet or a simpler/cheaper method (I have some ideas;-).

More information on augmented worlds, see this SURFnet site.

In search of co-developers

Acknowledgments