Astronomy

Astronomy is a discovery system that allows players to explore the night sky using a telescope, locate constellations, chart them, name them, and submit their discoveries for recognition and rewards. There are 1,000 constellations waiting to be discovered across the Britannian sky.

Getting Started

The Britannian Astronomical Society is headquartered in Moonglow. To begin your journey into astronomy:

Travel to Moonglow and locate Willebrord the Astronomer near the quest givers.
Next to the quest givers you will find a rune that will teleport you directly to Willebrord's observatory tent, where a public telescope is available for use.
At the observatory you will also find a copy of "Looking to the Heavens: A Primer on Britannian Astronomy" — double-click it to read the in-game guide to the system.

The observatory tent contains everything you need to get started: Willebrord himself, a usable telescope, a Brass Orrery, and a Constellation Ledger that records all discoveries made so far.

The Telescope

The telescope is the primary tool for observing the night sky. A Personal Telescope can be crafted through Tinkering and placed in your home, or you can use the public telescope at Willebrord's observatory in Moonglow.

Setup Requirements

A personal telescope must be locked down inside a house to function. It supports the standard house security level system, so you can control who has access to use it. To use a telescope, you must be within 2 tiles of it.

When you first use a telescope (or after it has been idle for more than 10 minutes), it will need a moment to calibrate. Simply double-click it again after a brief pause to open the viewing interface.

The Viewing Interface

The telescope gump displays a view of the sky and has controls for setting two coordinates:

RA (Right Ascension) — Ranges from 0 to 24, adjustable in increments of 1. The tens digit and ones digit each have their own up/down buttons.
DEC (Declination) — Ranges from 0 to 90, adjustable in increments of 0.2. The tens digit, ones digit, and decimal place each have their own up/down buttons.

After setting your desired RA and DEC, press the View Coordinate button to scan that region of sky.

Viewing Hours

Astronomy can only be practiced at night. The night sky is divided into four observing windows called Time Coordinates. Different constellations are only visible during specific time periods, so you will need to observe across all four windows to find them all.

Time Coordinate	In-Game Hours
Early Evening	5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Late Night	9:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Midnight	12:00 AM
Middle of the Night	1:00 AM – 4:00 AM

After 4:00 AM, daylight makes observation impossible. If you attempt to view the sky during the day, you will receive a message reminding you that daytime is not suitable for stargazing. A standard in-game clock is helpful for timing your sessions.

The constellations are distributed evenly across the four time periods, so roughly 250 constellations are visible in each window.

What You Can See

When you view a coordinate, one of three things will happen:

A constellation — If your RA, DEC, and current time coordinate match a constellation's location, you will see a cluster of stars rendered in the viewfinder. A message announces your sighting.
An interstellar object — If no constellation is at your coordinates, there is a 20% chance you will spot a random object such as a comet, one of the moons (Trammel or Felucca), a distant galaxy, or a planet.
Empty space — Otherwise, you see nothing but the void.

Star Charts

Once you have found a constellation through the telescope, you can create a permanent record of it using a Star Chart.

Creating a Star Chart

Star Charts are crafted through the Cartography skill using a mapmaker's pen. When the chart is first crafted, you will be prompted to target a telescope. The chart captures the constellation currently dialed in on that telescope, recording the time coordinate, RA, DEC, your name, and the date.

An uncrafted star chart appears as "An Indecipherable Star Chart" with a distinctive hue. Once successfully mapped to a constellation it becomes a proper "Star Chart" and displays the charted-by information.

If the telescope is not currently pointed at a valid constellation, you will be told there is nothing to chart at those coordinates.

Naming a Constellation

Double-click a completed star chart in your backpack to open the naming interface. You can enter a name of up to 36 characters for the constellation. The name must be unique — no two constellations can share the same name — and is checked for profanity.

You can change the name on a chart as many times as you like before submitting it.

Submitting Discoveries

Once you have a named star chart, bring it to Willebrord the Astronomer at the observatory in Moonglow and drag the chart onto him to submit your discovery.

If the constellation has not yet been discovered by another player, Willebrord will accept it and record the discovery in the Constellation Ledger. Your name, the constellation name, and the discovery date are all permanently logged.

If someone else has already discovered that particular constellation, Willebrord will let you know and you'll need to find a new one.

Important: You must name your constellation before submitting. Willebrord will reject unnamed charts.

Discovery Rewards

Each successful constellation submission rewards you with:

An Astronomer title deed — grants the "Astronomer" reward title for your character.
A Recipe Scroll — a Tinkering recipe for crafting a Personal Telescope.

The Constellation Ledger

The Constellation Ledger is a book found at Willebrord's observatory. Double-click it to browse a paginated list of all constellations that have been discovered so far. Each entry shows:

Constellation name
Discoverer's name
Discovery date
Night period (time coordinate)
RA and DEC coordinates

The ledger also shows the total count of discovered constellations out of the 1,000 possible. This is a great way to see how many remain undiscovered and to look up the coordinates of known constellations.

The Brass Orrery

The Brass Orrery is a decorative mechanical model found at the observatory. Double-clicking it toggles it between active and inactive states, with accompanying sound effects. It serves as an atmospheric piece at the observatory.

Equipment Summary

Item	Purpose
Personal Telescope	View the night sky; must be locked down in a house
Star Chart	Crafted via Cartography; records a constellation from a telescope
Mapmaker's Pen	Used in crafting star charts
Clock	Track in-game time to know which viewing window is active
Primer on Britannian Astronomy	Reference book explaining the system
Constellation Ledger	Browse all discovered constellations (at observatory)
Brass Orrery	Decorative item; toggles on/off

Tips

Keep a clock handy so you know which of the four time windows you are currently in. A constellation at RA 12, DEC 45.6 during Early Evening is a completely different constellation than one at the same coordinates during Midnight.
Work systematically — pick a time window and sweep through RA values one at a time, adjusting DEC at each step. Since there are roughly 250 constellations per time period spread across 25 RA values and 451 DEC values (0.0 to 90.0 in steps of 0.2), patience is key.
The public telescope at Willebrord's observatory is a convenient option if you don't yet have the recipe to craft your own. Once you submit your first discovery, you'll receive the recipe scroll to craft a Personal Telescope for your home.
Each constellation has a unique combination of time coordinate, RA, and DEC — once you chart one, those exact coordinates at that time period are accounted for.
The Constellation Ledger lets you see what others have found and at which coordinates, helping you avoid duplicating effort on already-discovered constellations.
Spotting interstellar objects (comets, moons, galaxies, planets) is a fun bonus but does not contribute to discoveries — only constellations can be charted and submitted.