Battlestar Photoshopica: Otto Travels to Pluto
Written by Nancy Atkinson
Otto the Dachshund traveling through the Hubble Deep Field. Created by Ralph Petrozello
Our "Astro Art" feature needs a catchier name, and frankly we need more people to read this feature or it will be toast. So here's the new name: Battlestar Photoshopica, suggested by UT reader Dave Finton. And spread the word about these very cool posts which showcase our readers' prowess with digital image editing software. Here's this week's edition, which is probably the cutest image we've ever received. This is Otto the Dachshund, created by Ralph Petrozello. Otto is on his way to Pluto. Really. This image was chosen by The Planetary Society to be part of the New Horizons Digital Time Capsule, on board the New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto. The time capsule consists of photographs of things in 2006 that people expect will be transformed by 2015, when the spacecraft arrives at Pluto. Only fifty photos were selected, and this is one of them.
Ralph told us more about this image:
"I took a photo of my Dachshund, Otto, reflected in a car's rear view mirror while he was looking out the window with his sun glasses on. (…he really wore them,) Ralph said. "I replaced the background of the photo with the Hubble Deep Field image, and the reflection in his sun glasses so it appeared as though he was traveling through space towards Pluto, looking out towards the "Andromeda Galaxy" going by. The photo also captured the words on the mirror, "Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear"…which Otto was to me."
"Otto is gone now, …but I know his memory will live on."
Ralph is a member of the I forgot to mention that I am also a member of the San Diego Astronomy Association.
For more info on the New Horizons Digital Time Capsule, see the Planetary Society's website.
Filed under: Astrophotos
Tags: AstrophotosRelated stories on Universe Today
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September 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Hmm….
Are 3D Render allowed?
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Holy moly, I honestly wasn't expecting someone to take my suggestion seriously! Cool, nonetheless.
Savino: They did a 3D rendering about a month ago of an alien landscape (too lazy to look it up), so I assume the answer is yes. =D
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hello Dave!
Congratulations for your excellent suggestion! And thanks for the tip, I have missed this one:
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/08/20/astro-art-of-the-week-6/
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Oh, I almost forgot, gonna make a rendering too, any suggestion?
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 am
I propose a toast. Let Universe Today report on science and end this cutesy crud. If the science news is just that too slow for you, then do some history. But this nonsense must go.
Now, pass the marmalade, i like marmalade on me toast.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:01 am
Vanamonde, I'll give credence to your banal comments about the appropriateness of this column when you stop using cutesy names from ancient SF novels as your moniker. Otherwise, you feedback is useless.
Nancy, many of us enjoy the lighter side of Universe Today and enjoy such flights of fantasy. Please keep this column up. Do not listen to this ape with an opposable thumb.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
Oh boy, anyone saw the APOD today?
I was thinking in making the same image….
Damn!!!!
Let me look for another cool exoplanet to make!
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
@Pedantic: I couldn't agree with you more. Perhaps someone ran out of marmalade. This site continues to offer topical, insightful articles pertaining to hard science and astronomy. Offering a lighter subject once a week doesn't seem excessive. If some readers are so offended, DON"T READ IT. There are plenty of "hard science" articles written daily, as well as numerous other sites that aren't so "cutesy." Perhaps Vanamonde wishes he were as creative.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Thou shalt not feed trolls
Thou shalt not feed trolls
Thou shalt not feed trolls
Thou shalt not feed trolls…
sometimes, it is soooo hard, especially when they get personal. And Childhood's End is only 56 years old, hardly qualifies as ancient. Do you understand the Age of this Universe? And insult me all you want, but you insult the great works of Arthur C. Clarke at your peril!
As for my creativity, I suppose I have proven my lack of that attribute – no one seems to have picked on my non sequitur about toast and marmalade. It was inspired by "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfest" from Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother", that was 1970 and dare I reference literature from the previous century!
Your mothers are string theorists.
I have nothing further to feed you trolls.