How could APOD be better?

[starsurfer]

APOD is a great exploratory vessel of the universe that takes planet Earth to galaxies far far away and dramatic cauldrons of starbirth. But what would you like to see on APOD more? Me? I would want a few more true colour images of planetary nebulae included!

[Ann]

Yeah, well... since I myself am the worst color nerd I have ever come across, and since I have a stronger love of the color blue than anyone I have ever come across, I would, of course, also want to see more true color images of anything astronomical. I agree that in some cases "true color images" just don't work at all, for example if some object emits mostly infrared light.

But I agree with you that "false" color or mapped color images of planetary nebulae rarely work for me. If I can be sure that OIII emission is shown as blue, Ha emission as green and the longest-wave emissions as red, then at least I can "read" the image. But there have been Hubble images of planetary nebulae where the colors have been "impossible" to me. This has led to a lot of negativity on my part towards planetary nebulae in general. I feel that I don't understand their colors and therefore don't understand them or "like" them at all.

So, yes, more "true color" planetary nebulae would be just fine! Alternatively, for the "weirdly colored planetaries", a thorough explanation as to why they look so weird and unlike the RGB images would be much appreciated, at least by me! (The reason why this planetary is yellow, purple and orange is that... and can anyone explain these colors?)

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

APOD is a great exploratory vessel of the universe that takes planet Earth to galaxies far far away and dramatic cauldrons of starbirth. But what would you like to see on APOD more? Me? I would want a few more true colour images of planetary nebulae included!

I usually prefer color-mapped narrowband imagery of emissive bodies, because they tell me more about the structure of the object (and I generally prefer the aesthetics, although that is secondary).

Of course, there's no such thing as "true color" with astronomical images, and to the extent that the concept can be approximated, HST images (which IMO are the very best planetary nebula images) are almost always poorly suited to producing it (and likewise for most images created from professional data).

[luigi]

Don't touch it, don't change a single thing.
I love APOD as it is. The variation, the surprise every day, the beauty of the photos.
I wouldn't like any change at all, in fact I would vote "ignore all proposals" if there were a voting about improvements and such an option existed.

[Chris Peterson]

Don't touch it, don't change a single thing.
I love APOD as it is. The variation, the surprise every day, the beauty of the photos.
I wouldn't like any change at all, in fact I would vote "ignore all proposals" if there were a voting about improvements and such an option existed.

Agreed. Any site designed to please one segment of viewers 100% is bound to disappoint many others. Diversity is a good thing. Anybody who doesn't find many, many great images on APOD doesn't belong here in the first place. We're all going to find some that we don't care for... how could it be otherwise?

[starsurfer]

Yeah, well... since I myself am the worst color nerd I have ever come across, and since I have a stronger love of the color blue than anyone I have ever come across, I would, of course, also want to see more true color images of anything astronomical. I agree that in some cases "true color images" just don't work at all, for example if some object emits mostly infrared light.

But I agree with you that "false" color or mapped color images of planetary nebulae rarely work for me. If I can be sure that OIII emission is shown as blue, Ha emission as green and the longest-wave emissions as red, then at least I can "read" the image. But there have been Hubble images of planetary nebulae where the colors have been "impossible" to me. This has led to a lot of negativity on my part towards planetary nebulae in general. I feel that I don't understand their colors and therefore don't understand them or "like" them at all.

So, yes, more "true color" planetary nebulae would be just fine! Alternatively, for the "weirdly colored planetaries", a thorough explanation as to why they look so weird and unlike the RGB images would be much appreciated, at least by me! (The reason why this planetary is yellow, purple and orange is that... and can anyone explain these colors?)

Ann

I think every single Hubble image of a planetary nebula is false colour. The colours arise from mapping the Ha and OIII exposures to specific colour channels. I think it might be easier to understand the colour if you look at their spectra. I love RGB images that include Ha and OIII narrowband data that are mapped in a way that could be approximated as "true colour". For example, one of my favourite astrophotographers Don Goldman takes HaOIIIRGB images of planetary nebulae but he maps the colour in a way that it is "true colour". You can see his amazing images here: http://dg-imaging.astrodon.com/

[Ann]

Thanks for the link, starsurfer!

Ann

[starsurfer]

Thanks for the link, starsurfer!

Ann

I'm so happy that my link has made you happy!!

[charlieo3]

How do you make vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry on top, better? You don't. If you don't like it, then you have a different taste and you order something else. APOD fits my taste just fine. Variety combined with informed commentary and hyperlink text; it can't be beat. I don't know how many times I have checked out APOD on my iPhone, and couldn't wait to get home and see it full screen. Keep up the good work, guys!

[orin stepanek]

I pretty much like APOD the way it is! If I find some that aren't aesthetically pleasing to me; I wait around a day or two! APOD You do a wonderful job!