*holds open the floodgates to let all the info out*
HEY!!!!! What's the differences between our space and tyrian space? Also, what advancements in space study have been/are being achieved by your krewe?
@mystery-salad
deep breath
ok so, there's one MAJOR difference here: Tyrian stars have completely different life cycles, and are legitimately useful for augury.
Firstly, the night sky evolves much, much faster than it does in real life, and that's why constellations are all named in modern language. There's no "Cuspis" but there is a "Siege Devourer," and I posit that this is because the stars change position (or existence status) relatively quickly, so ancient constellations simply don't exist anymore. I feel justified in saying this, mostly due to the fact that Elder Dragons form new stars when they appear, and also it's just really odd to not have any Old Names for constellations.
For the second point, the Canthans in GW1 did divination with the positions of the stars (and planets, see note below), as did the Jotunn, and some Norn culture as well (if memory serves).
Tyria does, in fact, have an inclined axis of rotation. The different lengths of day and night in core maps, combined with the equal lengths in Cantha, imply this directly.
There are other planets (almost certainly discovered by the Jotunn before their fall, given the massive telescope found in the Jotunn path in Arah).
The following are pure headcanon with zero base in canon, though it's all perfectly compatible.
Tyria has two moons, the large one we see in-game being named Tungl and a much smaller, nearly too-dark-to-see named Flakkari.
The sun is named Ljos, but is near-identical to Earth's Sol.
Current S.P.A.C.E. Krewe projects:
Our optical observatory is quite good due to Kanni's optical expertise and Cidda's specialty in high-detail photography, so we'll have good imagery of those other planets I mentioned, and I'll have an excuse to build up the entire Ljosian system.
Yukii is pioneering the field of radio astronomy (my real-life job), and Leppa is currently using that equipment to perform a survey of deep sky objects. There's some weird stuff out there in real life, and who knows what she'll find in this universe?
Nixxi and Takka are working on launch vehicles to officially start the space exploration process. Satellites fitted with optical cameras and other sensors will revolutionize cartography, geology, and navigation, once we get the rockets working.
Kovvi's current project involves extreme-range wireless data transmission, including images and live voice. This will initially be used in conjunction with the satellites, but will eventually result in things like long-range encrypted communication devices becoming much cheaper to produce.
There's lots I'm forgetting but it'll come up eventually I'm sure 😅 Thank you so much for asking about this aa
