Battlestar Photoshopica: Otto Travels to Pluto

By Nancy Atkinson - September 22, 2009 at 11:41 AM UTC | Planetary Science
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[/caption] 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.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com