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Pages: 1 magic612 Post Laureate Reged: 09/30/08 Loc: S. of Chicago's light dome Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages       #5344198 - 07/30/12 09:12 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Since this is the Lunar Observers section (and I realize this is not precisely "Lunar Observing" related, but the experts are here, so) I hope the mods will permit this. I just spent the better part of the last two days creating some simple, beginner style Moon guides on my website to supplement my weekly astronomy videos on the homepage. I have largely avoided having the Moon on my site previously, but given how much attention it gets at least every two weeks, that seems a bit foolhardy. In any case, the guides are definitely not intended to be all-inclusive by any means - I don't wish to overwhelm the newcomer with too much information. But I would like to provide a fair amount so that the beginner can learn about the major features and large craters / mountain ranges. My goal is, at the moment, to appeal to those with binoculars and very-small-telescope owners. If the good folks here would be so willing, I'd sure appreciate a once-over of these two pages, as well as the downloadable PDF file I have there to let me know if anything I have on there is wrong / needs fixing / isn't clear, etc. The craters were difficult to mark on the map so that the text was large enough to read while not overlapping too many other features. So I recognize that those may be "not ideal" but I'm not sure how to make it much better without having a bunch of lines all over it, which I'd hoped to avoid. I will very likely make some more complete guides (or more detailed maps, as it were) in the future, but this is hopefully a good start. I went with the "color coded" route so that each type of feature has it's own color, for clarity's sake. Anyway, constructive feedback greatly appreciated - thanks in advance! http://eyesonthesky.com/Moon.aspx http://eyesonthesky.com/Moon/FullMoonmap.aspx PDF file (4.6MB): http://eyesonthesky.com/Portals/0/freemoonmaps/fullmoonlunarchart.pdf Post Extras:       ed_turco Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/29/09 Loc: Lincoln, RI Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: magic612]       #5344300 - 07/30/12 10:21 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I would have had a ball with this info back when I started observing the moon. Just enough info to get someone started and then some. But not overwhelming. A small caveat: I am not appreciative of those Latin names for the highland areas. The names of the seas are enough for someone new to handle. This is not a serious complaint but reflects a personal quirk of mine. Post Extras:       magic612 Post Laureate Reged: 09/30/08 Loc: S. of Chicago's light dome Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: ed_turco]       #5344376 - 07/30/12 11:14 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Ed, thanks for your thoughts - I appreciate it. I did include the English version parenthetically - some of which didn't get saved initially, so I'm glad you brought that up. I've since re-added then to that section. Post Extras:       Wes James Postmaster Reged: 04/12/06 Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: magic612]       #5344760 - 07/31/12 07:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I went to your site (/moon.aspx)- and the first thing I noted is that your text was black on a blue background- darkening into black- and was unable to read the last part of the text... Black text on black background doesn't read too well with these old eyeballs!! Other than that, a great asset for beginners. Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: magic612]       #5344775 - 07/31/12 07:52 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A very commendable effort indeed! Well done. While I like the addition of the Terra designations - something missing from the vast majority of beginner's guides - I agree with Ed that they aren't needed at this level. TMI, plus they take up room better used for other labels. Have you tested those label colors at night with a flashlight? They seem a bit difficult to see to my eyes (but I'm old!). You've used different colors to improve clarity, but does it really work at night? That's a detail where many guides fail, and it's a hard nut to crack. Put tons of effort into that. It's way more important than another picture of the Moon. Can you provide the various views according to telescope type? Correct image for binoculars, etc? Handy for the beginner. (Perhaps you did but I missed it, in which case it needs to be clarified.) I'm not a technology wizard, but today's young people are. Can this be placed on 'phones', 'pads', and 'kindles', etc? Those devices show up all the time in younger observer's hands. That would be a real advantage since there are already so many good lunar guides out there. I think it's great that you've taken the one-step-at-a-time approach and plan on increasing levels of detail rather than dumping too much info on students at once. That's an advantage of computer-based learning that books can't accomplish as easily. Here's the big question, and please take it in the constructive nature it's offered: There are a LOT of computer-based guides out there now. Everyone and their brother has a 'blog' with a moon map on it. It will be nearly impossible to exceed the VMA for years to come, and the book shelves have many offerings for the newcomer. Step back and think hard on these thoughts: What does this guide do that the others don't? What can you bring to the table that hasn't been done before? What will make this guide more useful than the others? Overall though, I must say that you've done a grand job of it, and this is more impressive than many others I've seen. I especially like your writing style that's to the point but not condescending, yet includes a touch of tasteful humor. A fine effort! Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: Tim2723]       #5344779 - 07/31/12 07:59 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wes and I were posting at the same time. Note that colors are an issue. That's where so many fail. It's a hard one to solve and needs a lot of attention from authors. Do concentrate effort there; it's a tough nut. Post Extras:       magic612 Post Laureate Reged: 09/30/08 Loc: S. of Chicago's light dome Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: Wes James]       #5344930 - 07/31/12 09:40 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I went to your site (/moon.aspx)- and the first thing I noted is that your text was black on a blue background- darkening into black- and was unable to read the last part of the text... Black text on black background doesn't read too well with these old eyeballs!! Other than that, a great asset for beginners. Hi Wes - not sure why that happened... there is actually a white background behind the black text. Perhaps a browser issue? I normally use Google Chrome, but I just tried it in the (very old) Internet Explorer 8 and it worked fine in that too. Maybe try again? The text should definitely appear as black on a white background next to the images. Post Extras:       magic612 Post Laureate Reged: 09/30/08 Loc: S. of Chicago's light dome Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: Tim2723]       #5344991 - 07/31/12 10:27 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: A very commendable effort indeed! Well done. While I like the addition of the Terra designations - something missing from the vast majority of beginner's guides - I agree with Ed that they aren't needed at this level. TMI, plus they take up room better used for other labels. Tim, thanks for that point. Since I have this saved as a Photoshop file, I can simply remove those layers from the PDF file, and perhaps include a couple more things - or make the listed craters more easily identified. Quote: Have you tested those label colors at night with a flashlight? They seem a bit difficult to see to my eyes (but I'm old!). You've used different colors to improve clarity, but does it really work at night? That's a detail where many guides fail, and it's a hard nut to crack. Put tons of effort into that. It's way more important than another picture of the Moon. I have not yet - but that's because my laser printer at home is only black ink. I'll have my wife print it at work and see how it appears. Labeling a variable-grey surface definitely IS difficult! Again, all the labels are saved in a Photoshop file, so I can adjust colors pretty easily if needed. Quote: Can you provide the various views according to telescope type? Correct image for binoculars, etc? Handy for the beginner. (Perhaps you did but I missed it, in which case it needs to be clarified.) Well, that's getting a bit ahead of things. I have more planned for the site; this is a beginner step. LOTS more to be added, but it's going to take some significant time to get it ready. Quote: I'm not a technology wizard, but today's young people are. Can this be placed on 'phones', 'pads', and 'kindles', etc? Those devices show up all the time in younger observer's hands. That would be a real advantage since there are already so many good lunar guides out there. Good thinking, and I'm a step ahead there. Although this is not directly geared at that (yet), my web designer did do a nice job of making the site accessible from a variety of devices. But some additions I am planning down the road account for those devices more fully. Quote: I think it's great that you've taken the one-step-at-a-time approach and plan on increasing levels of detail rather than dumping too much info on students at once. That's an advantage of computer-based learning that books can't accomplish as easily. Indeed! It's helpful to be able to create as many (or as few!) pages as needed for clarity's sake. Quote: Here's the big question, and please take it in the constructive nature it's offered: There are a LOT of computer-based guides out there now. Everyone and their brother has a 'blog' with a moon map on it. It will be nearly impossible to exceed the VMA for years to come, and the book shelves have many offerings for the newcomer. Step back and think hard on these thoughts: What does this guide do that the others don't? What can you bring to the table that hasn't been done before? What will make this guide more useful than the others? Well, at the moment, the honest answer is "not much." But that's only applies to the present moment. As I alluded to earlier, I have some plans to add to this quite significantly and in a way that will be - I think - extraordinarily user-friendly, unique, and an asset even to frequent lunar observers. This is merely the first step, as the videos I make each week (which are largely unique) always mention the Moon in some context. I realized that instead of always talking about planets or deep sky objects, I needed to add the Moon into the mix. So this is a way of acknowledging it and having an "always there" resource of the Moon's major features. Frankly, it gives ME a resource to which I can refer in my videos too, so that instead of explaining the same concepts over and over and over, I can simply point to the website and let viewers digest the material at their leisure. The best question there is the "What can you bring to the table that hasn't been done before?" and on that point, all I can say now is, there WILL be something offered that hasn't been done before. But I don't want to let on too much just yet. Stay tuned. Quote: Overall though, I must say that you've done a grand job of it, and this is more impressive than many others I've seen. I especially like your writing style that's to the point but not condescending, yet includes a touch of tasteful humor. A fine effort! Thank you so much, not only for the compliments, but especially for taking the time to write a thorough and thoughtful critique with excellent questions to consider. I would like to make this a valuable resource for the Moon not just for beginners, but for amateurs who may know some about the Moon but want to learn more. But that is going to take several months worth of work. It will get there. Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Constructive criticism on my sites's Moon pages [Re: magic612]       #5345148 - 07/31/12 11:59 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Well, in a nutshell it sounds like you have a good handle on things and a sound plan. It's obviously a work in progress and I for one will eagerly await further installments. I'm sure you'll do us all a favour in providing useful information rather than just another pretty picture of the Moon with a fistful of labels blazoned across it. Best of luck, and remember: Clarity, clarity, clarity! Quote: It will get there. Yes, I think it will. As you pursue your work consider this thought from a foolish old man with a small circle of glass: How many among us choose to ignore the Moon as a hindrance to 'real' astronomy? When we account for light angles; libration and phase, and then factor in nights missed to bad weather, life's obligations, and plain laziness, the Moon doesn't present exactly the same face to the observer more than once or twice in a lifetime. It's not an object to take lightly nor for granted. Post Extras:       Pages: 1

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