Stray Light
June 18, 2012
Stray light - those nasty reflections off our Space Station windows - can ruin the aesthetics of nighttime imagery and viewing. Reflected light from our numerous control panels and computer screens is hardly noticeable until you closely inspect your pictures, typically after returning to Earth when there is no possibility for a retake. The reflections are aggravated by the design of our windows: four layers of glass resulting in eight parallel-mirrored surfaces. For photographers, they can create a haunting tunnel of colored blotches that project off to infinity, like being in a house of mirrors.
To eliminate these reflections requires attention to many small details. Any source of low-level light has to be masked. Even when this is done, light coming from the adjacent Node 3 and Node 1 modules is enough to ruin a nighttime sequence of images. Then there’s the toilet, close to our windowed Cupola, which, when occupied, spills sufficient rays to spoil an image. I have found that it is possible to train your crew to use it in the dark.
As a final measure, I spread a cloth baffle across the base of the Cupola with an opening sufficient only for my head. Like a flattened projection of a turtleneck sweater, this final barrier effectively excludes errant rays. Equipped this way, as soon as your eyes become adjusted for night, both your view and your images will be spectacular.
Other posts by this author
- A Poem for Saturday: One Planet is Not Enough
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini: The Frontier
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini: Preparing for Departure
- A (New) Moon is Born
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini: Gardener's Spacesuit
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini: Baby on Board!
- With Warm Regards
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini: Happy Sprout Day!
- From the Diary of a Space Zucchini - What Do Dragons Eat?
Aug. 18, 2012
Marco P.
AHAHAHAHA this is sooooo coool, and funny and useful (I understand it is really depressing having all these difficulties at taking picture some seem really difficult and impossible to change and instead you did it) I thought that reflectiona also came from the mirrowing of light from the ISS external panels when you mentioned the NODEs.
Well .. I also heard that Cupola windows have been recently cleaned from the outside, with the arm.. or that they will be cleaned by the next EVA of August\early September.
Really incredible nobody commented this post until now.
Well that's way too similar turtle (ninja) outfit, and turtles I hope down on earth and in sea will receive a lot of help from your experiments up there ... there are a lot of programs from World WildLife Fund that are trying to protect them. I have a friend in Italy who was responsible for the campaign. The turtle inspired you this solution for the light so let's give them back with some attention and with dedication of a project to animal\wildlife!