Queen guitarist, Brian May takes part in the OSIRIS-Rex mission
Doctor in astrophysics, Brian May participated in 3D modeling work on samples from the asteroid Bennu.
He is perhaps the most famous astrophysicist in the world! Considered one of the greatest guitarists in history, Brian May made himself known within the group Queen, as the alter ego of Freddie Mercury, and as a composer, we owe him, for example, the famous hits We Will Rock You and Show Must Go On.
Now 76 years old, Brian May continues to tour, but he hasn't forgotten his studies and his diplomas, and he has just participated in NASA's historic asteroid sample collection mission. , OSIRIS-REx.
The application of stereoscopy
As a capsule returned to Earth filled with samples from the asteroid Bennu, May and her colleague Claudia Manzoni were invited to examine visual data collected by Dante Lauretta, the mission's principal investigator, based at the University of Arizona.
May and his collaborators examined the first images of the exterior of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. It shows material from the asteroid Bennu and they attempted to apply a technique called stereoscopy to render the surface of the celestial object. This technique allows you to add a 3D effect and an illusion of depth to a simple 2D image. Usually, you have to put on a real stereoscope to enjoy the illusion of a 3D view, but the images produced are of such quality that a simple computer or smartphone screen is enough.
“We looked for pairs of images of the surface of Bennu taken from viewpoints located a certain distance from each other,” writes the guitarist in a post published on the official NASA website. This separation of points of view, called the “baseline”, must be perfect to give the impression of depth and reality when viewing images stereoscopically.
These stereoscopic images are a pair of close-ups of samples from the asteroid Bennu recovered by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission
Erika Blumenfeld, Joseph Abersold for original images // Brian May, Claudia Manzoni for stereo image processing .The brain has the illusion of relief
For the rendering to be perfect, stereoscopic imaging requires pairs of 2D images, so that a parallax effect is possible from subtle differences in the two images taken from slightly different points of view. For the effect to work, May recommends standing in front of your screen, looking at the two images, while looking into the distance. At one point, they become one and the 3D view is visible.
This type of viewing requires the left and right images to be displayed separately to our left and right eyes. In everyday life, this is what gives us the illusion of relief. As proof, you only need to close one eye to lose 3D vision. When pairs of 2D images are very close, the small differences between the components of the stereoscopic pair – called parallax differences – give our brains “the ability to instantly perceive the depth and solidity of the image,” explains Brian May. “The largest “pebbles” in this photo are approximately 1 centimeter in diameter. Enjoy this piece of history in the making! »
Source: websites