Astronomy

Astronomy is the observation of space and the sky.

Sky

The sky is a great expanse of far background visible when no block or back wall acts as a barrier. Objects within it move in circular patterns, although at an equator they may appear to move vertically. It has a cycle characterized by four parts: dawn, day, dusk, and night.

Dawn

When dawn starts, the sky brightens and then turns pinkish orange as the moon and stars disappear. The light level starts to increase. Solar panels will create some electricity.

Day

During the day, in the Blockhead's world, the sun rises from the east and sets in the west. The light level will usually be at its greatest. Stars disappear and the moon sets. Solar panels will generate the most electricity.

Dusk

Similarly to dawn, the sky turns pinkish orange but the light level will decrease instead. Stars will slowly appear. Solar panels will create some electricity.

Night

The sun disappears. The moon rises and stars appear. The light level is low. Dropbears will attack blockheads passing by their location and occasionally roam from tree to tree. Scorpions will become more aggressive. Solar panels will generate little to no electricity.

Gallery

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  Dawn on a clear day

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  A clear day

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  Dusk on a clear day

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  A clear night

Heavenly Bodies

There are four types of objects that can be seen in the sky: the sun, the moon, the stars, and clouds. Noting their motion may allow a player to identify where a part of a world is in the world.

Sun

The sun is a very bright, white object slightly larger than a block in size, directly visible only during dawn or dusk (depending on the viewing location). It's so bright that it lightens the color of the sky near it, the closer the brighter. Overcast conditions will reduce this effect and possibly keep the sun from being visible at all.

Moon

The moon is an object of similar size to the sun but not quite as bright. Like the sun, it tends to brighten nearby sky and is directly visible only during dusk or dawn (whenever the sun isn't). It's easily recognized by its mottled pattern.

Stars

Stars are very small spots of light visible in the night sky. They appear as if it were the same season, time of day, and latitude, at 0° longitude in the real world.

Clouds

An pre-release image of clouds

Clouds were added in version 1.6. They are mostly decorative, moving through the sky without doing more than occasionally obscuring other heavenly bodies. Their color changes with the weather and they become difficult to see on rainy nights.

Clouds were originally intended to be in the game earlier as they were seen in the first TouchArcade article on The Blockheads.

Gallery

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  HD moon