fsgregs wrote:In another thread, Fridger provided a Pluto texture that is actually the blurred photo of Pluto from Earth, color corrected. There is talk on the thread of making that the default Pluto texture for Celestia. I have to respectfully disagree.
As the person who made that suggestion, I have to step in and say that in my opinion Don's texture, and the textures offered by others here, are very fine
interpretations of the Pluto data - they're beautiful things, and part of what makes Celestia a pleasure and a joy.
But the one thing we may be sure of is that they are almost
nothing like the real Pluto, and the small extent to which they do resemble the real Pluto will be the extent to which they resemble Fridger's texture, which is a summary of all we really know about Pluto's surface.
Which is why I suggested that Fridger's texture be adopted as part of the core package. I imagine everyone with a fast enough machine will download
at least one other Pluto texture, and each will choose according to some personal aesthetic. But isn't it invidious, with several detailed Pluto interpretations now on offer, to choose just one to be part of Celestia, on the basis of someone's individual artistic taste? And isn't it equally unacceptable to stick with the current blue Ganymede? So to my mind the best solution is to go with a texture that provides exactly what we know about Pluto, no more and no less, and at the same time to raise our hats in appreciation to those who've given us realistic-
looking textures through their own imagination and skill.
Grant
