Fun astronomy photo technique - Universe in a bottle

[mjimih]

This is what the Universe would look like if it were a tiny model
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-is-how-t ... 1483570573

Looks like fun. I hope it catches on. There are just so many cool astronomy photos in the first place, that this technique could really be helpful in getting even more kids interested in the universe.

The technique is simple: open the original image as a base layer. Duplicate the layer and make it out of focus with the Gaussian blur filter. Then add a mask to that layer and use a brush to selectively mask the parts of the image that you would like to keep in focus so it looks as if you were taking a macro photo of a tiny model of the Universe.

[Nitpicker]

I just tried to do that and a little animated "mad-scientist" wizard popped up and said: "It looks like you're trying to re-invent the universe. Stop that at once! I refuse to help!"

[geckzilla]

I think this started on reddit or something. I saw an article about it a few days ago here: http://www.universetoday.com/107020/lit ... look-tiny/

They look sort of neat, like space turned into microbes. A little silly too, though.