Solar eclipse

[nikolay-spb]

So it was routine flight, and then!!!

I was like omg, didnt even knew that it was supported in KSP.

For few seconds i was breathless enjoying the scene.

Now i am trying to do it again, but it is hard, i dont really have any idea how to calculate date/time of launch to see it again.

[Motokid600]

Don't worry. You'll see it soon again. With no inclination eclipses happen in ksp like there going out of style.

[Tex_NL]

To be honest solar eclipses in KSP are VERY common. Mun orbits Kerbin at 0° inclination. On the equator (at KSC) you can see an eclipse every 6 to 7 Kerbin days.

Edit: Ninja'd.

[viktor19]

Eclipses are actually very common in LKO because Kerbin has a 0° inclined orbit around the sun and Mun also has a 0° inclination towards Kerbin. Some players have even lost their rockets on takeoff because their solar panels were blocked by Mun.

I would personally like if bodies shadows were implemented. View from orbit would be great!

[EDIT]: Double ninja'd

[Harry Rhodan]

didnt even knew that it was supported in KSP.

Objects blocking sunlight?

[mikegarrison]

Some of you are total buzzkills, you know that? I think that seeing things like eclipses and sunrises from orbit and Kerbin hanging there above a crater rim from a Munar base are part of the joy of playing this game.

[gogozerg]

Some players have even lost their rockets on takeoff because their solar panels were blocked by Mun.

Sometimes your ship is right in the middle of the shadow cone and your solar panel is working like a charm. Well, on Minmus right now my solar ISRU base is working at night on solar energy...

[mikegarrison]

Sometimes your ship is right in the middle of the shadow cone and your solar panel is working like a charm. Well, on Minmus right now my solar ISRU base is working at night on solar energy...

Yeah, solar power when landed is a little buggy. Sometimes you can get solar energy right through the body you are landed on.

[SmashingKirby148]

I saw a picture of a KSP 1.0 thing on twitter about when the Mun blocks out Kerbol, the sky actually goes dark, and the moon turns red. Or it could be a blood moon thing. I saw this before 1.0 came out.

[mikegarrison]

I saw a picture of a KSP 1.0 thing on twitter about when the Mun blocks out Kerbol, the sky actually goes dark, and the moon turns red. Or it could be a blood moon thing. I saw this before 1.0 came out.

The part that I highlighted doesn't make sense. When the Moon turns red it is because the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

[Nicole]

Lovely, I would quite like to see one of those in the game for myself.

[theend3r]

Lovely, I would quite like to see one of those in the game for myself.

Fast forward for a few days and you will.

Squad should really introduce axial tilt but I guess that will come with a weather system of some sorts (or I hope so at least). Clouds, axial tilts (and more interesting terrain) are the last things that are really missing from the game.

[SmashingKirby148]

The part that I highlighted doesn't make sense. When the Moon turns red it is because the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

Well, the picture I saw had what I said. Dark Sky, Red Mun. So I assumed it was a new solar eclipse mechanic. But then one happened for me and the sky didn't go dark. (I hope that can be a thing )

[wossname]

Are there any mods that give you a realistic ground-track shadow for a solar eclipse? I would love watching the Mun's shadow sweep across the planet Kerbin.

[TheMoonRover]

Well, the picture I saw had what I said. Dark Sky, Red Mun. So I assumed it was a new solar eclipse mechanic. But then one happened for me and the sky didn't go dark. (I hope that can be a thing )

That was one of the cryptic clues (specifically day 8) in the Kerbal Kountdown (counting down the days to the release of 1.0)

The clues were originally posted on Twitter by KasperVld. It was 8 because we're currently in the 8th Saros Cycle of eclipses.

The reason the sky is dark during a lunar eclipse is because you can only see one if it's night-time. The Earth blocks out the sunlight which would otherwise hit the moon and reflect back. The red colour is due to light refracting through the Earth's atmosphere, hitting the moon and reflecting back.

Edited May 10, 2015 by TheMoonRover
fixed typo + more info

[Feradose]

Fast forward for a few days and you will.

Squad should really introduce axial tilt but I guess that will come with a weather system of some sorts (or I hope so at least). Clouds, axial tilts (and more interesting terrain) are the last things that are really missing from the game.

Having to get ascending and descending nodes right while transfering beetween bodies, and the rendezvous and docking will be a whole other form of doom. The learning wall is steeper and spiky then.

[viktor19]

I saw a picture of a KSP 1.0 thing on twitter about when the Mun blocks out Kerbol, the sky actually goes dark, and the moon turns red. Or it could be a blood moon thing. I saw this before 1.0 came out.

Confirmed photoshop

my solar ISRU base is working at night on solar energy

Sciency stuff!

[SkyRender]

Squad should really introduce axial tilt but I guess that will come with a weather system of some sorts (or I hope so at least). Clouds, axial tilts (and more interesting terrain) are the last things that are really missing from the game.

Actually, HarvesteR recently commented on why there isn't axial tilt in KSP right now. That reason being that it causes Bad Things to happen with the PQS terrain generation as it stands now.

[Tex]

Ah yes... I remember the first time I ever discovered an eclipse. It must've been almost two years ago...

I was flying some sort of spacecraft in an equatorial orbit. I had just barely come around the back side of Kerbin, so things were still a little dark. I needed some power, so I had my solar arrays unfolded and they were supposed to be collecting power, but I noticed I wasn't gaining anything. I promptly thought "wut" and right-clicked to diagnose the problem. It reported that the solar panels were being blocked by the Mun. "Wait wut!" I said, and looked towards Kerbol, and sure enough there was an eclipse going on.

Best moment ever!

[Bill Phil]

And everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the Mun.

Nice view! But they can be problematic when you rely on only solar panels...