APOD: Trees, Sky, Galactic Eye (2010 Jun 29)

[APOD Robot]

Trees, Sky, Galactic Eye

Explanation: Is beauty in the eye of this beholder? Earlier this month, over Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, a playful photographer with an eye for the sky took eight images and composed the above intriguing picture. The full fisheye frame shows everything above the horizon, including a lamp-illuminated landscape around the edges, and the zenith of the sky directly overhead. The image, however, may be more than beautiful -- it may also be a scavenger hunt. Can you find the photographer's tent, the slope of a volcano (active Piton de la Fournaise), a picturesque shoreline, and the lights of the nearby town (Saint Philippe)? One remarkable feature of the above image is that its center contains the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy.

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[aristata]

Great shot. What about the tree species -- are they palms? thanks

[neufer]

[geckzilla]

Great shot. What about the tree species -- are they palms? thanks

Not palms, rather, monocots, or screwpines (not pines either!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_utilis

[orin stepanek]

Nice photo mosaic. The red tent and the shore were easy to find. I really didn't look for much else. I wonder it the photographer was bored so he devised this shot. It turned out wonderful though; great work!

[rwarner]

Beautiful composition!

[neufer]

<<Leonardo was responsible for the decoration of the ceiling and vault of the Sala delle Asse (translation: 'room of the tower' or 'room of the wooden boards') in Sforza's castle, Milan. Leonardo was presented with this room for his own use; access being gained via a bridge and arcade he had built over the moat.



Painted between 1495--1497, the fresco is made up of 18 WILLOW trees, two of which skillfully encircle two windows in the room . Where the boughs
meet towards the ceiling they intertwine, thought to be a symbol of the marriage of Ludovico, Duke of Milan with Beatrice d'Este. Emblazoned
throughout the branches is a fantastic golden rope made up of assorted loops and knots. Appearing to be several ropes, if it is followed the viewer
discovers it is actually just the one cord which folds back on itself, twisting and turning throughout the entire pattern. Gold rope was a
fashionable symbol of the day and appeared knotted on the clothing of Beatrice d'Este.

Included in the work is the coat of arms of the Sforza family (falcons and serpents)
which is painted in the very centre of the ceiling where the tree branches meet.


Much of the work on the 2,880 square foot canopy was carried out by Leonardo's pupils, but he did the design and this is a play on the word VINCI, one meaning of which is WILLOW. The search for any other hidden significance among the designs still continues. The hall was then used as a barracks and the paint deteriorated and flaked away.>>

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For Leonardo, trees more than any other natural phenomena illustrate the principles governing life and growth in nature.

In the Sala delle Asse, or “chamber of boards”, the artist devised an imaginative painted scheme based on his studies of nature, which illustrated the power and status of his patron. This consisted of great trees with their branches rising up and across the ceiling to intertwine to form a sort of fictive pergola. The branches are interlaced with a gold rope and form geometric arabesques and patterns around the coat of arms of Ludovico Sforza. The gold interlace symbolises his wife, Beatrice d’Este.

It also embraces inscriptions referring to his defeat of the French, his rise to become Duke of Milan, and the wedding of his niece Bianca Maria to the Emperor Maximilian. The trees are mulberries, a pun in Italian on Ludovico’s nickname, “il Moro”, as the Italian word for mulberry is gelsomoro.

Leonardo’s “forest room” is not only a novel expression of Ludovico’s strength and wisdom as a military ruler, but also the artist’s powers of artistic invention and a testament to his knowledge of nature.

In Leonardo's words:

• The gaps made by air within the bodies of trees and the gaps made by trees within the air will not be shown to the eye over a long distance, because where the whole is perceived with effort, the parts are distinguished with difficulty. Rather a confused mixture is made, which mostly takes on the appearance of the part having the greater bulk.>>

[moonstruck]

WOW! What a neat picture. I found the tent and the center of our Milky Way that's about it I wish the playful potographer would come on here and explain how he did that. It was obviously done at night, but the trees are lit up from the bottoms of their trunks to the tops of their branches. A flash wouldn't do that I wouldn't think.

[León]

Today, images calls for a gardener, I understand from the experts there is someone very talented and prominent.

Regarding the trees also thought it was baobab, Madagascar typical neighboring island of Reunion Island, but the shape of the roots are different from the picture, although they may be confused with those of The Little Prince accompanied above.

Baobab is said that a tree that was buried upside down

But hidden message, the center of the galaxy that stretches over a meeting of Pandanus utilis, palm tree with aerial roots typical of the island?
http://reunion.runweb.com/page-383-lang ... union.html

[Karen]

Great picture! Would make a wonderful jigsaw puzzle -- 1500 pieces or so.

[Chappy]

That really is a very interesting and beautiful picture, very imaginative and nicely composed. My brother-in-law is a professional photog, internationally acclaimed, I have to show him this shot.
I agree, would make a GREAT jigsaw image! There is software that can take an image and design a puzzle for you, you just need to find someone who does this and can make it 4 U. I think APOD images would make numerous great jigsaws

[Guest]

wicked awesome photo dude! Love it!!! Kinda eerie but cool

Hannah

[lup974]

The publication of my photo " Galactic eye " as APOD of June 29th, 2010 was a real surprise and an immense joy. I would like to thank you for your trust and for having the whole world discover Reunion Island. Yesterday was an incredible day. Still thank you and why not keep in touch for more photos.

Kind regards
Luc PERROT

[DavidLeodis]

Fascinating image. It looks like a section of a kiwi fruit.

[Guest]

The publication of my photo " Galactic eye " as APOD of June 29th, 2010 was a real surprise and an immense joy. I would like to thank you for your trust and for having the whole world discover Reunion Island. Yesterday was an incredible day. Still thank you and why not keep in touch for more photos.

Kind regards
Luc PERROT

That photo is from Reunion Island? I read about that place a couple years ago. So beautiful! What kind of trees are those?

-Hannah-

[bystander]

What kind of trees are those?

monocots, or screwpines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_utilis

[neufer]

That photo is from Reunion Island? I read about that place a couple years ago. So beautiful! What kind of trees are those?

SCREWPINES! (And the same goes for LARCH )

[geckzilla]

Hey guys, would you happen to know what kind of trees those are in the photo?

[lup974]

Could anybody translate this text please

"Il existe des nuits où les conditions d’observation du ciel sont parfaites, parfaitement calmes, sans nuage, sans vent, sans lune et sans pollution lumineuse. Le sud-est de la Réunion est une région très peu peuplée à cause de la proximité d’un des volcans les plus actifs du monde, le Piton de la Fournaise.
C’est sur cette côte, d’ordinaire très inhospitalière que nous décidons, mes amis, ma femme et moi, de planter notre tente pour la nuit. Au programme, feu de camp, rougail saucisses (une spécialité culinaire Réunionnaise), gâteau patate, champagne et rhum arrangé (rhum avec au choix gingembre, cannelle, letchis…) et guitare.
Bref, juste une belle soirée sous un ciel d’une remarquable clarté, l’un des plus beau que j’ai pu observer à ce jour.
A l’heure où tout le monde se couche, les yeux encore illuminés par le spectacle de la voie lactée, je choisis cet instant pour sortir mon matériel photo: boîtier Nikon D300 , objectif « Fish eye », trépied avec tête panoramique et télécommande. La lampe à gaz qui servait à nous éclairer durant le repas m’offre un superbe éclairage pour mon premier plan. Par chance, à ce moment précis, le centre de la voie lactée est au zénith, superbement lumineuse sous les tropiques de la Réunion. Quelques réglages, quelques tests et c’est parti !
Je commence par deux vues décalées du zénith (avant que les nuages menaçant viennent masquer le centre de notre galaxie) puis six vues horizontales pour obtenir un parfait 360°. Pendant les 35 secondes de pose de chaque photo, je promène ma lampe à gaz sur les vacoas afin d’obtenir une exposition homogène.
Le reste du travail se terminera à la maison devant mon ordinateur : un assemblage minutieux avec l’excellent logiciel PTGui puis quelques corrections basiques (teinte, contraste, traitement du bruit…). Mon « Œil galactique » venait de voir le jour. APOD l’aura révélé aux yeux du monde !"

Luc Perrot
http://www.lucperrot.fr/

[bystander]

Could anybody translate this text please
...
Luc Perrot
http://www.lucperrot.fr/

per google translate: (I realize this isn't perfect)

There are nights when the sky observation conditions are perfect, perfectly calm and cloudless, windless, moonless light pollution. The south-east of the Meeting is a sparsely populated because of the proximity one of the most active volcanoes in the world, the Piton de la Fournaise.

On this side, usually very inhospitable we decide, my friends, my wife and me to our tent for the night. The program, campfire, rougail sausages (a specialty of Reunion), potato cake, champagne and rum (rum with a choice of ginger, cinnamon, lychees ...) and guitar.

In short, just a beautiful evening under a sky of remarkable clarity, one of the most beautiful I have seen to date.

At a time when everyone goes to bed, eyes still lit by the spectacle of the Milky Way, I chose that moment to get my camera gear: Nikon D300, lens 'Fish eye' with panoramic head tripod and remote control. The gas which served to enlighten us during the meal gives me a great light for my first plane. Luckily, at that precise moment, the center of the Milky Way is at its zenith, beautifully light in the tropics of the Meeting. Some settings, some tests and go!

I start with two views shifted from the zenith (before the clouds are threatening to hide the center of our galaxy) and six horizontal views to get a perfect 360. During the 35 seconds exposure of each photo, I walk my gas light on vacoas to obtain a homogeneous exposure.

The remaining work will be completed at home at my computer: A minute with the excellent software PTGui then some basic adjustments (hue, contrast, noise processing ...). My "Eye Galaxy" came to see the day. APOD has revealed to the eyes of the world!

[RJN]

Thanks, Luc!

Note to Asteriskians: I asked Luc to tell us his imaging story and he was most comfortable doing this in French. Situations like this will be exceptions to the "English only" rule on this board. I will now email the APOD French mirror people to see if they can provide a good translation. Still, if anyone out there feels comfortable translating it themselves, please have a go. - RJN

[Chappy]

Thank you for your explanation Luc!

My brother-in-law was quite impressed with your image, and he knows photography inside out, backwards and standing on his head..
He noted that it must have been at least a 30 sec exposure and that you did a good job evening out the subtle differences in the lighting through that many composited images.

Dave