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Are tiled display walls needed for astronomy?
Clustering commodity displays into a Tiled Display Wall (TDW) provides a
cost-effective way to create an extremely high resolution display, capable of
approaching the image sizes now gen- erated by modern astronomical instruments.
Astronomers face the challenge of inspecting single large images, many similar
images simultaneously, and heterogeneous but related content. Many research
institutions have constructed TDWs on the basis that they will improve the
scientific outcomes of astronomical imagery. We test this concept by presenting
sample images to astronomers and non- astronomers using a standard desktop
display (SDD) and a TDW. These samples include standard English words, wide
field galaxy surveys and nebulae mosaics from the Hubble telescope. These
experiments show that TDWs provide a better environment for searching for small
targets in large images than SDDs. It also shows that astronomers tend to be
better at searching images for targets than non-astronomers, both groups are
generally better when employing physical navigation as opposed to virtual
navigation, and that the combination of two non-astronomers using a TDW rivals
the experience of a single astronomer. However, there is also a large
distribution in aptitude amongst the participants and the nature of the content
also plays a significant role is success.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PASA (Publications
of the Astronomical Society of Australia
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