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Astronauts face unique visual challenges at lunar South Pole
- JoeAltmaier 2y agoDid they consider a helmet filter that put a dark spot over the sun dynamically? Perhaps with an lcd layer.
- binary132 2y agoSounds expensive. I propose a dynamic directional umbrella hat.
- peddling-brink 2y agoFor 20 years, I’ve wondered why we don’t have that in cars.
- tseid 2y agoIts a tough feature to implement- the sun's position in the glass depends on your perspective as well, not just the sun's position in the sky. Easier to do in a helmet than in a windshield, I suppose.
- eemil 2y agoPerspective shouldn't be a problem. Some cars already do eye tracking, using a camera placed near the gauge cluster, as part of a driver monitoring system.
- LorenPechtel 2y agoEye tracking isn't enough--you need to know where the eyes are, not where they are looking.
- httpsterio 2y agothat's the easier part of eye tracking. eye tracker sensors work by working out where your eyes are and determine where you're looking by calculating the angle of your pupils and approximating the direction.
- ralphc 2y agoI forget which one, but there's a Larry Niven science fiction story that uses this as a plot point. Our hero takes advantage of the sun blocker spot on the villian's plane or ship by approaching in the line of sight of the planet's sun.
- 1970-01-01 2y agoThis is a very old fighter pilot tactic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_position_(air_combat) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_position_(air_combat)
- all2 2y agoI believe this strategy was also used in WWI, but just hiding in the glare of the sun.
- aaronbrethorst 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen
- FredPret 2y ago“Beware the Hun in the Sun” is apparently what Allied pilots used to say. https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/archive-exhibitions/worth-a-thousand-words-air-diagrams/beware-of-the-hun-in-the-sun/ https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/archive-exhibitions/wo...
- Polizeiposaune 2y agoGrendel, one of the stories in Neutron Star, set on a planet orbiting a very bright star where everyone has to wear protective goggles with sun-tracking black dots for each eye. Our hero needs to steal the bad guy's (flying) car, at sunset and circles until his shadow points at the car..
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoImagine blocking the infestation of billboards on earth with a dynamic shade.
- pizza 2y agoThey Live!
- Tagbert 2y agoMost places seem to have just outlawed them.
- asimpleusecase 2y agoIn some place the entire windscreen would be blacked out
- tgv 2y agoReminds me of the peril-sensitive glasses in H2GT2G: "At the first hint of trouble, they turn totally black and thus prevent you from seeing anything that might alarm you."
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoYep, that's the case in many parts of Southern California.
- aporetics 2y agoThat moment while driving when the pavement is wet and the sun is at a low angle and suddenly the ground is as bright as the sun and you can’t see anything. But all the time! It sounds more complicated than just figuring out how to prevent glare. Even if you do that, the terrain will always be illuminated in this strange high contrast scenario. I find myself thinking about how photographers use reflectors to avoid this in their portrait subjects.
- imoverclocked 2y agoMeanwhile, solar panels might be super efficient because they get to use the moon as a giant reflector. Shedding heat will be an interesting problem though... perhaps thermal panels and Stirling generators instead of PV? They could save a bunch of weight by just using the water-ice when they get there. Sounds like a fun project to work on!