Texturing question

[renderingfarmer]

Is it possible to make a texture dependant on light? Or someone simulate this effect?
What I'm trying to do is create a simple little earth-sun animation... I have two textures: a normal globe by day and one which shows the lights all over the world at night.

found here, by the way:
http://www.oera.net/How2/TextureMaps2.htm

Now what I was hoping for is that as my Sun-light rotates around the earth the night texture can be faded out in some form or another, revealing the day texture where the sun lights it. I seem to remember reading about a similar process using the luminosity.

It sounds stupid now that I've written it down. I'm new so I'm allowed.
So what do you say? Any ideas?

[munky]

If the two texture maps are stacked on the same surface you could just animate an alpha matte which would be half black and half white (vertically split and with the join blurred) to remove the nightime texture and reveal the daytime one You would of course have to time this with the light but it should work



regards


paul