Sun

Within Patterns, the sun and moon are the same object. They orbit the world and shift between displaying the sun and the moon every few minutes. They act as a light source for the world and cast shadows depending on their position in the sky. For the purposes of this article sun refers to the object which displays a sphere of bright yellow light and a reddish corona while moon refers to the object which displays a sphere of dimmer white light covered in lines and circles. The object which contains the sun and moon will be referred to as the **Caelux** (short for Caelestis Lux, or 'heavenly light'). It is a physical object in space, not simply a background animation, and as such can be reached through any sort of flying mod/bug/hack which allows the player to pass the boundaries of the world.

## Astronomical Properties

The Caelux's revolutionary period (time it takes to orbit the world) is approximately eight minutes. The diurnal period (time from 'sunrise' to 'sunrise') is approximately 6 minutes. The orbital plane is tilted with respect to the axis of the world (provided by 'up' at the initial spawn point). It is approximately 2880 blocks distant from the world and takes about 8 minutes to reach by flight. The Caelux also does not appear to actually orbit the world, rather it traces a circle across the sky. From some angles, the Caelux is never be visible and from others it never sets.

## Arrangement

The Caelux is arranged linearly from a shadow point on the background known as the **umbra**. The umbra is the point which holds the Caelux on its path around the world and can be seen at all times. Moving inward, the first part of the Caelux is the **corona**. The corona is also visible during both the day and the night, but takes different forms. During the day the corona is a series of arcs which form a star-pattern that appear to be made of fire. A close look shows each arc to be made of smaller arcs. During the night the corona is a faint spiral of dark purple centered on the umbra. Moving inward is the **lux**, the source of light. Centering the camera on the lux will cause the Caelux to appear much brighter. If the camera is offset from the lux, lens flares will appear. Next is the solar surface, the main body of the sun. The **solar surface** is a sphere of yellow that surrounds the lux, it's rear edges touching the corona. In front of that is the lunar surface, the main body of the moon. The **lunar surface** is a hemisphere of white that pulses in intensity. As such, the lux is significantly behind the lunar surface. In front of the moon are two layers of animation named the **craterus** and the **signis** which are very close together. The signis is the point-and-line layer of animation while the craterus is the concentric circle animation layer. Finally the Caelux is surrounded by a ring of small points of light (presumably stars or stellar debris) called the **stellar ring**.

### Sun

The sun is a yellow sphere of light. Its extremely bright lux obscures the stellar ring from the world and the umbra from flight. It displays a corona of arcing flames as well as occasional solar flares. These flares are points of light that leave trails of flame behind them and can be seen from the world if you stare into the sun hard enough. The sun does not display a craterus or signis. It appears brighter than the moon and casts a yellow-white light on the world.

### Moon

The moon is a white hemishpere of light, though from the world it appears as a full sphere. It has a dimmer, diffuse lux which has several star-like points and displays a faint swirl for a corona. The moon does not have flares, but the lunar surface pulses in intensity. The moon also displays the craterus and the signis, giving it the appearance of a pockmarked lunar surface as well as some sort of magical property (which could be true considering the properties of moonstone). The umbra is most visible during the night, though it is obscured from the world. The stellar ring is also highly visible while the moon shines. It appears dimmer than the sun and casts a bluish light on the world.

## Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise is the when the moon changes into the sun. The light on the world changes from blue to red and the moon begins to smoke with red swirls. The signis disappears and the craterus changes into a yellow geodesic hemisphere, glowing very brightly. The sun's corona begins to flare out as the lunar surface disappears. The solar surface appears behind it and as the corona reaches full height, the craterus disintegrates. The light on the world slowly brightens from red to white.

Sunset is when the sun changes into the moon. The light on the world changes from white to red. The corona begins to fade and change into dark swirls. The light on the world changes from red to blue. Purple smoke appears and the craterus appears as a dark purple geodesic hemisphere. The corona dies down as the solar surface disappears and the lunar surface appears. The smoke begins to fade and the signis appears. Finally the craterus changes back into its usual appearance.