The Prize !! For those of us who waited with bated breath for the Ultimate Stereo of Ultima Thule … here it is ! Well, maybe penultimate, because these are only the quick medium-resolution data. But it’s already a prize beyond anyone’s dreams. The very first stereo view of the most remote object ever seen by the human race begins to reveal its topography, as a flat picture never could. Ultima Thule is by far the oldest known and most unspoilt relic of the early solar system – that same solar system that was born so that you and I could be born ! This side-by side stereo is my adaptation of the work done by stereoscopic genius Paul Schenk – a core member of the New Horizons team – to whom all respects ! Visit his website for abundant AstroStereoscopic gems. My huge thanks to Alan Stern and the entire NH team for allowing me to hang out while they pulled off the space exploration scoop of the century. My tribute – the theme for New Horizons – is out there on the usual platforms.
Onwards !!
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HELLO CROSS-EYED FREE-VIEWING FOLK !
This is for you !!
If you had trouble viewing the last image I posted, try this trick. OK ? Ready ?
Hold the phone just where it is right now, at your usual working distance. Now hold your first finger straight up and move it to a position about half way between your eyes and the phone – but a little lower down so it covers up a bit of the writing at the bottom. LOOK AT YOUR FINGER ! Now gradually let yourself become aware that something is happening with the images on the phone ! If you move your finger slightly towards your face and then back out again, you’ll become aware that although those pictures on the phone now seem slightly blurry, you can still see them – and instead of just two pictures they look like FOUR. As you move your finger, they slide back and forth across each other, looking slightly ghostly – transparent. See that ? And at one particular position of the finger the two pictures closest to the centre of your view perfectly overlap – they sit on top of each other. Right ? If they don’t quite sit right, gently tilt the phone (rotate) back and forth until they actually LOCK into one image. So now instead of seeing four images you see THREE. Now you can forget about the outer pictures. Just concentrate on the CENTRE one. That’s where the magic is going to happen. OH ! Did it already happen? Do you now see one image floating in space just above your finger ? And if you just relax, does it come into focus ? THIS IS YOUR 3-D IMAGE ! Just sit and let the magic happen. You’ll now see that this central image gives you a picture that is just as solid and real as your finger ! OK ? If it doesn’t work the first time, just read this again and try one more time. In almost every case, I will guarantee that the magic will happen. Yes, there are just a few people who do not have the sensation of stereopsis, usually because they had some problem with their eyes when they were an infant. I have read an account of someone who actually trained her eyes to give her stereopsis at the age of 40, but that’s another story.
OK. If this works, TELL ME ! OK ?!
Bri
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