Astronomy Picture Of The Day (APOD) Discussion

[Blue Fire]

Re the Apollo 17 VIP Site Anaglyph, I finally got hold of some red/blue glasses from a friend. Gotta say I was a bit disappointed - the 3D effect didn't seem to jump out at me like I expected. However, it was worth a look - the glasses did make the image seem "more real", especially the tires on the rover. I'm guessing that the featureless background of the lunar surface had something to do with my perception - there seemed to be precious little for the eye to compare to, and the contrast between the detail of the vehicle and the backdrop of the moon's surface really didn't work to any advantage like I was expecting.

[Dragon Star]

APOD of the day. 8/29/06

Wow, that is my new background, very impressive image!

[Blue Fire]

Originally Posted by Dragon Star

APOD of the day. 8/29/06

Wow, that is my new background, very impressive image!

I'm wowwed myself - it is certainly worthy of background status. But I have one complaint. I'm running out of room on my hard drive to store all this cool astronomy stuff. Since I'm a cheapskate due to lack of funds for an upgrade, I guess I'll just have to start some serious cleaning out of all that other garbage on my computer, ... like Windows.

[Dragon Star]

Here is some advice, go to a non name brand computer store (like a local parts store) and get a used hard drive for a few bucks, and add it to your system.

[Blue Fire]

APOD 08/30/06
This picture of the sun with a magnetically reversed sunspot reminds me of when I used to track sunspots back in the late '60s with a small refractor telescope. I would simply trace a circle around a coffee can lid ona piece of paper and then focus an image of the sun from the telescope onto the paper and mark the dark spots I saw. This method never seemed to harm the optics of my telescope.

Question: I've used the same method at times using my binoculars. Do I run any risks of damaging my binocs? I was going to try to locate this sunspot with them, but thought I'd ask about it first.

[Blue Fire]

Oh, by the way, it just ocurred to me that perhaps I should be using dates like 2006/08/30 instead of 08/30/06 for August 30, 2006. Is the former the "astronomically correct" way?

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060819.html
I have a new desktop wallpaper!

Originally Posted by Blue Fire

Today's APOD (Aug 26, 2006) - Apollo 17: VIP Site Anaglyph : Anybody have some red/blue glasses I can borrow to view the 3D effect? Better yet, there's gotta be a way to make your own. Where's McGuiver when you need him?

I held red and blue gel filters in front of my eyes to look at the pic and couldn't get it to make sense. Like for instance the lunar module would seem to be in front of the rover, or if I switched filters the hills would seem to be in front.

[Blue Fire]

Today's APOD (Sept 6, 2006): a green aurora with a blanket of stars overhead. Wow! Can you ask for anything more inspirational? And, curiously perhaps, the silhouette of the camera tripod and an observer didn't register with me at first, but then I realized that they were an unconscious source of perspective and ultimately only enhanced the sense of wonder with the picture. I call this Good composition! While the tripod and person aren't the focus of the picture, their silhouettes do indeed seem to contribute to the composition as a whole. I just gotta get me a good camera soon to try my own luck.

[Blue Fire]

Today's APOD (Sept 7, 2006): Colorful Moon Mozaic, can't be fully appreciated without clicking the picture for the hi res version. I have to scroll it back and forth on my screen but it certainly is worth the look. The representative star field added really does make the Moon stand out, contributing to a 3D effect that is, well,... effective!

[Dragon Star]

I, as usual, made it my new Wallpaper this morning.

I think I finally found one I can keep for a good while...I think it's the best Moon image ever.