First, follow this link to Gigapan Time Machine.

I have been entranced by this interactive timelapse of the sun for years, and there is enough detail in each of the layers that I still haven’t found all of the interesting events yet.  For my capstone project, I would like to augment the interaction in some way that allows users to better view multiple frequency bands simultaneously.  Many of the events can be understood and appreciated more fully by watching them unfold across multiple frequency bands.  The current method of selecting them is somewhat clumsy, though, and only one video can be viewed at a time.

I’m still trying to come up with a good way for users to manipulate and blend the frequency visualizations in a way that decreases confusion rather than increases it.  My current plan is to implement a sort of magnifying glass that can either zoom in locally or reveal a different frequency than the background layer so that the user can examine points of origin and dissipation while the video plays.  A still from the video might look something like this:

Another option might be to allow the user to paint his or her own viewing windows in different frequency bands, as shown below.

I’m currently leaning away from this path, though, because I worry that painting static image windows isn’t a good idea for a video that is constantly in motion, especially since the sun is constantly turning to the right.

Any feedback is welcome!