Too bad.  Well, we're not likely to get to 1000 posts or need another forum.  I think we can manage just fine with a game thread and an OOC thread.  Now, my promised post for Criptika:<br/><br/><strong>Astronomy for Bethany</strong><br/><br/>This is mostly to help Criptika handwave the science for Bethany, but everyone is free to chime in.<br/><br/>Ok, first let me admit I was a big science nerd when I was younger.  Once upon a time I wanted to be an astronaut or an astronomer and didn't realize the difference between the two.  I read a lot of astronomy and eventually even had my own telescope for christmas - which was when I learned real astronomy was pretty boring.  Looking at the planets can be fun for a night.  After that I got bored, but some people love it.  Anyway, I think I know enough to help fake it.<br/><br/>Bethany has three clues that will help her identify the time:<br/>(1) The Earth's axis precesses like a top in a 26,000 year cycle<br/>(2) The proper motion of the stars slowly distorts constellations over a period of tens of thousands of years<br/>(3) Supernovas, particularly the Crab Nebula<br/><br/><strong> What Bethany can tell in a few minutes of looking at the night sky</strong><br/>Any professional astronomer or series stargazer knows the constellations like most of us know the layout our hometown.  Once it is dark enough to see constellations, Bethany will be able to tell that all the same familiar constellations are still recognizeable, but some of them are distorted.  That's caused by the proper motion of the stars.  Without reference books Bethany will be hard put an exact number to it, but could make a rough guess, between 10,000 years and 100,000 years.<br/><br/><strong>Past or future?</strong><br/><br/>That won't immediately tell Bethany whether they are in the past or the future.  Sure it looks like the ice age, but as far as they know the human race wiped itself out and they're in the future.  Bethany can prove it's the past by checking the night sky.<br/><br/>She will also be able to determine if they are in the past or the future by checking for supernovas.  I'm not sure how familiar you are with astronomy, but stars burn bigger and brighter at the end of their lifespan, just before they go supernova.  All of the big bright stars that Bethany is familiar with: Betelgeuse, Antares, etc are still up there.  Plus there is a new one in the constellation of Taurus, that's a big clue.<br/><br/>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Crab_Nebula.jpg/250px-Crab_Nebula.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Crab_Nebula.jpg/250px-Crab_Nebula.jpg)<br/>There aren't a lot of pretty things to look at in the night sky other than the planets.  If you look at a star in a telescope, guess what, it still looks like a bright dot.  However, if you know where to look, some of them aren't just dots.  You can see nebula and star clusters.  One rather famous one that Bethany would know if she is any kind of stargazer is the Crab Nebula.  It's not as pretty as the picture unless you have a major telescope, but even with a small one you can see a smudge and it has an interesting story.  It turns out we know exactly when the star that made the crab nebula went supernova because it was recorded by both Chinese and Arab astronomers as happening in 1054 AD.  Looking at right where Bethany's good friend the Crab Nebula should be - Bethany sees a nice shiny star.  Which means they are definately in the past and not the future.<br/><br/><strong>What Bethany can deduce after a few hours of watching the night sky</strong><br/><br/>What part of the sky we see every night changes as the sun moves around the sun.  We see a different piece in spring than summer.  This ties into the zodiac, the twelve constellations used in Astrology.  Looking at the night sky, it looks like what Bethany is used to seeing in spring, but she can't be sure of that, because the Earth's axis slow precesses like a top on a 26,000 year cycle.<br/><br/>Which means 13,000 years from now the constellations we now see in summer will be seen in winter then vice versa, but she can use the wobble of the Earth's axis as a kind of clock.  She'll have to watch the sky and pay attention for several hours, but after a lot of stargazing, she'll be pretty certain that Polaris, our north star, is once again the north star.<br/><br/>Which means it is either 24000 BC or 50000 BC or 76000 BC.  Going back to Bethany's first gut feel, more than 10,000 and less than 100,000 and having to pick one of those three - 50,000 BC feels right.  Maybe it is 24,000 BC.  Maybe it is 76,000 BC, but most probably it is 50,000 BC and sometime in the spring.  Maybe late March or early April.<br/><br/><br/><strong>What Bethany can determine in a few days of measuring sunrise and sunset</strong><br/><br/>On the spring equinox (March 20th most years, March 21st on leap year), day and night are approximately equal.  Each day after that the day gets a little longer and the night a little shorter, until the summer solistice, June 20th (21st on leap years).  A few days of measuring sunrise and sunset will help narrow down the date.  It's approximately the first week of April<br/><br/><strong>With lots of time Bethany can also</strong><br/><br/>Improvise some primitive instruments that will help her determine the exact date of the summer solistice when it happens.  That involves measuring shadows and I'd rather just handwave it.<br/><br/>