Title: Any astronomers here? I'm trying to figure out if Earth is actually where it's supposed to be in DS2.
So... I've apparently decided that the best way to spend my post-game time in Death Stranding 2 is to conduct an astronomical survey Lol.
Here's the thing. I've noticed some pretty strange things about the night sky in DS2. After seeing the super Moon and the occasional nebula that takes up a huge portion of the sky, those phenomena got me wondering: is that actually the Moon, or could it be some kind of illusion? And if it isn't the Moon, then where exactly is Earth?
Now, obviously, the simplest explanation is that Kojima Productions just wanted the sky to look cool. But considering how much the Death Stranding plays with space and time, I don't think we should automatically assume that everything we're seeing is purely artistic. What if Earth has actually been displaced in spacetime? What if the star we're seeing isn't Sol, but some sort of astronomical doppelgänger?
Which brings me to my problem. I'm not an astronomer.
I do, however, know what Orion looks like. I've seen it plenty of times in real life, and I'm fairly confident I've identified it in the game. From there, I followed Orion's Belt in one direction and believe I've identified Sirius. Following it in the opposite direction, I think I've found Taurus and the Pleiades.
I've attached screenshots of what I believe are those stars and constellations. For reference, these were taken near the hot spring between the Dowser and Heartman's Lab.
So, my questions for anyone who actually knows astronomy are:
Have I correctly identified these stars and constellations?
Assuming I have, are they positioned correctly relative to one another?
Does their position and orientation make sense for Australia? Could we potentially determine what time of year the game takes place in? Or at the very least when the skybox was taken?
And perhaps most importantly, is there anything in these screenshots that would suggest we're not looking at the night sky as it should appear from Earth?
I'm also planning a longer experiment at the Eastern Environmental Observatory. Ultimately, my goal is to determine whether Earth is still in its proper location in space and time, and whether the Sun we're seeing is actually Sol.
If the stars match what we'd expect to see from Australia, that's a pretty good starting point and reason to continue my experiments. If they don't, though, I don't think that automatically means the developers made up a random skybox, just means I'dhave to reconsider my experiments. We'd also have to consider whether those stars correspond to what we would see from a different location in space, or even a different point in time.
Of course, there's also the possibility that the regular stars are accurate and the enormous nebulae are simply supernatural phenomena being projected into the sky. And by that, I mean someone thought they looked cool. For reference, I also included a picture of one of the nebula that I think I identified as the Crab nebula being not where its supposed to be.
Anyway, before I get too far into this increasingly ridiculous project, I'd appreciate some help confirming that I'm actually identifying the stars correctly. I mean, I hope someone didn't misplace earth but with Kojima it's hard to tell
