Opinions sought: star set/star rise sunset/sunrise or Cen-set/Cen-rise

Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by GingerCoffee, Dec 11, 2015.

  1. Commandante Lemming

    Commandante Lemming Contributor Contributor

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    I like the idea of an alternate word like Cen-set or Stardown - but if you're in the Alpha Centauri system , there's a lot easier way to communicate early that you are not on earth. Alpha Centauri is three star system with two big stars (Alpha Centauri A and B) and one tiny red dwarf (Proxima Centauri).

    Here's a hypothetical view from a planet in that exact system (thanks Wikipedia). So you don't get just one sunset - you get two. And that's assuming your planet orbits A or B. If your planet orbits Proxima, then you have a red sun with two faint yellow suns in the background.
    [​IMG]
     
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  2. Commandante Lemming

    Commandante Lemming Contributor Contributor

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    The other thing that might happen in the Alpha Centauri system is that you probably would have to coin different terms for the rising and setting of the two suns, as those are not always going to happen at the same time. And your concepts of day and night could get weird in terms of the fact that you'd have times when both suns are out. times when neither sun is out, times when the greater sun is out, and times when only the lesser sun is out which would be like a perpetual twilight.

    So maybe they have terms like Alpha-rise and Beta-rise or something.
     
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  3. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Does it look like a sun and have the same glow? Or is it different? Maybe they call it something like New Sun or maybe they phrase it differently. I like watching old movies and noted how the simple phrase - watch television has evolved - nobody use to say watch television they used to say look at television as in want to look at television tonight. So maybe they don't say rise anymore maybe they're more scientific about it.
     
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  4. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    That hypothetical view in the Wiki entry isn't very accurate and it's not from a hypothetical planet as close as the Earth is to the Sun.

    Often people imagining the Centauri system think A and B are closer together than they are. It's the same way people think the asteroid belt looks crowded if you were in it. The truth is the rocky bodies are so far away from each other, if you were on one, you probably couldn't see the next asteroid over without a telescope.

    I did a lot of research on it. Essentially if you were on a planet orbiting one of the stars, you would not see two suns, you would see one sun and maybe a bright star in the distance. Also, Centauri B isn't as bright as the Sun.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri
    http://futurism.com/how-does-the-sun-appear-on-other-planets/
    [​IMG]

    I see the Wiki entry uses the term Cen as the equivalent to the word, Sol. That was interesting.


    Thanks for all your opinions, it's really helpful to hear how people react to new terms. I'll need to ponder some more.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2015
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  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    It looks like the Sun. Centauri A is slightly larger than the Sun and is the same color. B is smaller and cooler so it's more orange.
     
  6. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    My smeerps don't look like rabbits. ;)

    I do have mouzers though, because rodents almost certainly would evolve on another planet. :p
     
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  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Does the imagery not sound like the dew evaporating?

    Cen was winking out is not the first sentence. But maybe winking is the wrong word choice.
     
  8. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Nope, totally did not get the dew evaporating bit lol. "Drying" doesn't have to mean excess water drying up, after all - you could get dry skin or flowers dry up. Being dry can be a positive thing but you'd have to put it in combination with something else. The grass and trees being dry is not normally a good thing :p As well as that, why is it a good thing that dew is evaporating anyway? Dew is normally described in rather positive terms - it's very pretty, after all.

    Basically, it could work but you'd have to expand on it I think.
     
  9. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I think context addresses your issue.
    As I moved within the glen, my body brushed against the leaves letting cold dew wet my skin. I hung the bedroll and heat cloak over some low branches. It wouldn’t be long before the Cen was angled over the canopy, slipping through spaces between leaves, drying everything here on the forest floor.
    I may have to get used to "the Cen". I'm still not sure yet. But I do like that it is a scientific term equivalent to Sol.
     
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  10. Void

    Void Senior Member

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    So, I'm a little unclear on who exactly is on this planet. Are they humans who have traveled to the Alpha Centauri system, or are they aliens native to the world? If they are humans then it's reasonable to assume that they would still refer to it as a sunset, as that's not just the terminology they would be used to, but also because "sun" is often colloquially used as a generic term for which ever specific star happens to be at the center of the system. If they aren't humans, then they wouldn't call it a Cen-set either, since Centauri is the name humans have given it.

    It just seems needlessly pedantic. Perhaps if the character them self is intended to be pedantic then all this would be necessary, but it seems more likely that sunset is not only what the reader would think of it as, but also what the majority would call it regardless of the star. After all, people use scientific words incorrectly all the time. People use weight and mass interchangeably, even though they are technically different. What's more, considering the fact that the word "literally" is now in the dictionary, literally as its own antonym, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that the majority of people care about technical definitions.

    In short, I think you're overthinking it. Sunset is fine.
     
  11. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Humans immigrated there and settled an Earth-like planet in the Cen System. Plants and animals differ but I kept with plants, insects, mammals and birds. I'm still debating if there are feathers but the birds are like bats and flying squirrels. I'm still studying some sources on evolution and adaptation to keep the science as close to realistic as possible but still make the world interesting.
     

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