Fibre optic star ceiling-is a diffuse galaxy effect possible?

diybry

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hi All,
Having been inspired by some of the star ceiling projects on here, I'm part way through installing a star ceiling. Having finished the pelmet, which will have the usual recessed led tape lighting, I'm now looking at the details of the star ceiling itself. This will be 2.5 sheets of 2440 X 1220 5.5 mm ply, fixed and 25mm offset from the ceiling using 30 Neo magnets.
So this brings me to the star layout itself. I'm aiming for a really immersive, 3D effect. Looking at the excellent examples on here and around the net, key elements to achieve this seem to be: ( any further ideas would be welcomed)

1) diffuse light from the periphery LEDs should fade into the night sky, with no stars in this area.
2) use a very non reflective black background material.
3) Use at least 3 different diameters of fibre optics to achieve the near/far effect
4) Ensure star positions are random, it also seems that star density should increase a little towards the horizons, upto the point where the periphery light is visible
5) Less seems to be more for the overhead area, larger but more widely stars seem to work well in this area.
6) Stars should basically be white, with a random few being lightly coloured. I've read somewhere that simply painting the fibre end with a highlighting pen will do this, has anybody tried this or used other methods?
All the above seems do-able with some carefull planning.

However, there is one item I can't see how to reproduce, and that's how to create a diffuse, very distant milky galaxy effect, as raw end glow fibre seems to give a very focussed area of bright light, perfect for individual stars, but not a diffuse effect. Commercially available end fittings don't seem to provide this either.
One idea I've had is to perhaps position say about 5~10 0.25 mm fibres in the 'galaxy' area, cover them with some diffusing material, such as translucent white plastic, then cover this with a thin, open weave black material to maintain a uniform black appearance when switched off in daylight.
Any ideas or input would be most welcome
 
hi All,
Having been inspired by some of the star ceiling projects on here, I'm part way through installing a star ceiling. Having finished the pelmet, which will have the usual recessed led tape lighting, I'm now looking at the details of the star ceiling itself. This will be 2.5 sheets of 2440 X 1220 5.5 mm ply, fixed and 25mm offset from the ceiling using 30 Neo magnets.
So this brings me to the star layout itself. I'm aiming for a really immersive, 3D effect. Looking at the excellent examples on here and around the net, key elements to achieve this seem to be: ( any further ideas would be welcomed)

1) diffuse light from the periphery LEDs should fade into the night sky, with no stars in this area.
2) use a very non reflective black background material.
3) Use at least 3 different diameters of fibre optics to achieve the near/far effect
4) Ensure star positions are random, it also seems that star density should increase a little towards the horizons, upto the point where the periphery light is visible
5) Less seems to be more for the overhead area, larger but more widely stars seem to work well in this area.
6) Stars should basically be white, with a random few being lightly coloured. I've read somewhere that simply painting the fibre end with a highlighting pen will do this, has anybody tried this or used other methods?
All the above seems do-able with some carefull planning.

However, there is one item I can't see how to reproduce, and that's how to create a diffuse, very distant milky galaxy effect, as raw end glow fibre seems to give a very focussed area of bright light, perfect for individual stars, but not a diffuse effect. Commercially available end fittings don't seem to provide this either.
One idea I've had is to perhaps position say about 5~10 0.25 mm fibres in the 'galaxy' area, cover them with some diffusing material, such as translucent white plastic, then cover this with a thin, open weave black material to maintain a uniform black appearance when switched off in daylight.
Any ideas or input would be most welcome
I know that my friend used a smoked translucent model paint made by Tamiya on the ends of his fibre optics to darken the output and varied the number of coats to vary the brightness and used colour ones for yellow orange and red affect on various optics to give different coloured stars.
 
Thanks Guys,
@ FusedANUBIS 1
I'll get a little of that paint to try. I've also realised that black loudspeaker cloth is probably the best stuff to put in front of any diffuser I may use.
@ Sign of the times... Yes you are right, however part of the fun is in the planning... And it's a distraction during any possible forthcoming lockdown!
 
@ FusedANUBIS 1
Just for your information if you want to tag anybody then do not put a space between the @ and the member's name. If you do it correctly the name will show in red once you post.

ie, @ gibbsy wrong.
@gibbsy right.
 
hi All,
Having been inspired by some of the star ceiling projects on here, I'm part way through installing a star ceiling. Having finished the pelmet, which will have the usual recessed led tape lighting, I'm now looking at the details of the star ceiling itself. This will be 2.5 sheets of 2440 X 1220 5.5 mm ply, fixed and 25mm offset from the ceiling using 30 Neo magnets.
So this brings me to the star layout itself. I'm aiming for a really immersive, 3D effect. Looking at the excellent examples on here and around the net, key elements to achieve this seem to be: ( any further ideas would be welcomed)

1) diffuse light from the periphery LEDs should fade into the night sky, with no stars in this area.
2) use a very non reflective black background material.
3) Use at least 3 different diameters of fibre optics to achieve the near/far effect
4) Ensure star positions are random, it also seems that star density should increase a little towards the horizons, upto the point where the periphery light is visible
5) Less seems to be more for the overhead area, larger but more widely stars seem to work well in this area.
6) Stars should basically be white, with a random few being lightly coloured. I've read somewhere that simply painting the fibre end with a highlighting pen will do this, has anybody tried this or used other methods?
All the above seems do-able with some carefull planning.

However, there is one item I can't see how to reproduce, and that's how to create a diffuse, very distant milky galaxy effect, as raw end glow fibre seems to give a very focussed area of bright light, perfect for individual stars, but not a diffuse effect. Commercially available end fittings don't seem to provide this either.
One idea I've had is to perhaps position say about 5~10 0.25 mm fibres in the 'galaxy' area, cover them with some diffusing material, such as translucent white plastic, then cover this with a thin, open weave black material to maintain a uniform black appearance when switched off in daylight.
Any ideas or input would be most welcome
Speaking as a star ceiling professional, I'd agree with most of what you've said, although I'm not sure about your ideas of star distribution in points 3 and 4. Still, that may be a matter of personal preference.

However, I'm just writing to confirm that adding any pigment to the end of a fibre will create a colour filter effect. Experiment to see which convenient material - marker pen, hobby paint, nail varnish (if there's a member of the household thus equipped) - works best for you. Less is always more, so I'd avoid the temptation to go overboard.

There are a few naked eye red celestial objects - Mars, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Antares - but other colours are harder to spot with the naked eye, even though timelapse star trails bring out the colours in stars very well. So my advice - for whatever it's worth - would be to just add a handful of red stars.

As for the Galaxy effect, I'd just create a small elliptical recess in your panel, paint it white, illuminate that with one or two fibres and and just let the fabric handle the diffusion. Peter Fagan, Starscape
 
Speaking as a star ceiling professional, I'd agree with most of what you've said, although I'm not sure about your ideas of star distribution in points 3 and 4. Still, that may be a matter of personal preference.

However, I'm just writing to confirm that adding any pigment to the end of a fibre will create a colour filter effect. Experiment to see which convenient material - marker pen, hobby paint, nail varnish (if there's a member of the household thus equipped) - works best for you. Less is always more, so I'd avoid the temptation to go overboard.

There are a few naked eye red celestial objects - Mars, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Antares - but other colours are harder to spot with the naked eye, even though timelapse star trails bring out the colours in stars very well. So my advice - for whatever it's worth - would be to just add a handful of red stars.

As for the Galaxy effect, I'd just create a small elliptical recess in your panel, paint it white, illuminate that with one or two fibres and and just let the fabric handle the diffusion. Peter Fagan, Starscape
Thanks Peter, I've got the ceiling installed now, and used groups of 0.25mm fibre for the galaxy effect- really difficult stuff to use- however I'll make a couple of judicious slits in the felt and try out the galaxy idea, it sounds promising. Regarding colour, you make some good points, I was thinking that a highlighter pen would make a good start, as I guess the dye is easily removed if it proves not to be what I want. I'll update this thread as I complete this step
On another point, I have used felt for the background, however I was considering using black fleece, has anybody used this material?
 

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