by Ann » Thu Jul 04, 2024 6:47 am
I should not be the first to review this APOD, because any photographer that has spent blood sweat and tears and many many hours to produce an astronomical image that has been chosen as an APOD deserves a fine review.
So let me just say that I personally prefer another type of Trifid Nebula portrait.
What do I prefer? Well, let's compare today's APOD with a picture of the Trifid Nebula by Mark Hanson:
A Beautiful Trifid. Image Credit & Copyright: Jesús Carmona Guillén
The Trifid Nebula. Credit: Mark Hanson
Why do I love Mark Hanson's image? It's because it is so rich and sharply detailed and so marvelously colorful. It also provides us with a lot of background information that allows us to put the Trifid Nebula into perspective. I love the many-colored gaseous streamers stretching away from the Trifid Nebula, the bright colors of the bright stars, the unbelievably star-rich Milky Way background, and the diffraction spikes of the bright stars that allow us to see, among other things, that there are at least two stars at the center of the Trifid Nebula. (
There are more.)
Aren't there any good things to say about the APOD? Oh, sure. You could argue that it is a good thing that the colors in the APOD aren't so sharp, because few things in space are very saturated in color. And surely it's a good thing that the stars don't have diffraction spikes? They don't have diffraction spikes in reality! And as much as I love Mark Hanson's image, I will still say that the APOD does a better job at bringing out the blue reflection nebula of the APOD.
Of course I wish that the reflection nebula in the APOD wasn't so greenish... but you can't have everything...
Ann
I should not be the first to review this APOD, because any photographer that has spent blood sweat and tears and many many hours to produce an astronomical image that has been chosen as an APOD deserves a fine review.
So let me just say that I personally prefer another type of Trifid Nebula portrait.
What do I prefer? Well, let's compare today's APOD with a picture of the Trifid Nebula by Mark Hanson:
[float=left][attachment=1]TrifidrecortesRGB1024[1].jpg[/attachment][c][size=85][color=#0040FF]A Beautiful Trifid. Image Credit & Copyright: Jesús Carmona Guillén[/color][/size][/c][/float][float=right][attachment=0]Trifid Nebula Mark Hanson.png[/attachment][c][size=85][color=#0040FF]The Trifid Nebula. Credit: Mark Hanson[/color][/size][/c][/float]
[clear][/clear]
Why do I love Mark Hanson's image? It's because it is so rich and sharply detailed and so marvelously colorful. It also provides us with a lot of background information that allows us to put the Trifid Nebula into perspective. I love the many-colored gaseous streamers stretching away from the Trifid Nebula, the bright colors of the bright stars, the unbelievably star-rich Milky Way background, and the diffraction spikes of the bright stars that allow us to see, among other things, that there are at least two stars at the center of the Trifid Nebula. ([url=https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/videos/videoframe/dome_opo0417b.jpg]There are more[/url].)
Aren't there any good things to say about the APOD? Oh, sure. You could argue that it is a good thing that the colors in the APOD aren't so sharp, because few things in space are very saturated in color. And surely it's a good thing that the stars don't have diffraction spikes? They don't have diffraction spikes in reality! And as much as I love Mark Hanson's image, I will still say that the APOD does a better job at bringing out the blue reflection nebula of the APOD.
[size=85]Of course I wish that the reflection nebula in the APOD wasn't so greenish... but you can't have everything...[/size]
Ann