I got the calculated orbit data and should show that there are two possible scenarios, that it is a binary system consisting of a hot, blue star and a cold, red companion. It should be shown how the two possible tracks relate to the size and angular velocity of the Milky Way, where they are now, and where the two scenarios would lead them to in the future.
Here is the result:
It was the first Blender project I ever finished (and even ‘in time’), and of course there are some things I would do differently now. It was a great learning experience.
The result was also limited by my hardware and time, for example I had to omit dust in the Galaxy because of the long render times of volume absorption and scatter. The end result uses only emission shaders, on about 8 render layers.
Not really, it was clear that I couldn’t achieve this with the given time and equipment. I hoped that the result was a pleasant illustrative style, though.
The tails are cones with a Curve-modifier and the position being keyframed. Particle systems would probably increased the render times, which is why I didn’t use them here. And I tried the curves with bevel, but couldn’t find a way how to limit their length.
