By Raffy Paredes Astronomers may have discovered almost 4,000 planets beyond our Solar System so far, but trying to image these worlds is a bit like trying to get a good look at a fly buzzing around the Sun. Described as the world’s largest and most advanced superconducting camera, a new instrument dubbed DARKNESS is designed to filter out the blinding light of host stars to see orbiting exoplanets in more detail than ever before. “Taking a picture of an exoplanet is extremely challenging because the star is much brighter than the planet, and the planet is very close to the star,” says Ben Mazin, lead researcher on the team. That’s where the new instrument comes in. The DARK-speckle Near-infrared Energy-resolved Superconducting Spectrophotometer (DARKNESS) is designed to take images with much higher contrast ratios, allowing astronomers to spot extremely faint planets around bright stars. The current version of DARKNESS is designed for the 200-inch Hale telescope housed at Palomar Observatory, where the instrument has been tested several times. In future, the researchers plan to adapt it for use by other telescopes (newatlas.com). After Facebook enabled sending 4K images through Messenger, the company has improved the app once again. From now on, you will be able to share your 360-degree photos and HD videos with the selected friends through Messenger app. Sending the 360-degree photos and HD videos will be the same as sending any other media. You can use your phone’s Camera app or any other third party app. To send videos, though, you can also do it straight from your News Feed. Your recipients will be able to see the 360-degree photos by dragging the image around on the screen or by moving their phones. Also, both panoramic images and 720p videos will have an icon indicating that it’s not ordinary media. In case they can’t play the HD video for whichever reason, it will be possible to lower its quality in full-screen mode. If you want to start sending your panoramic photos and HD videos to the chosen ones, remember to update the Messenger app. It’s worth noting that 360-degree images can be sent and received anywhere in the world, via both Android and iOS devices. However, as Engadget writes, HD videos can only be sent and received in certain countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US (diyphotography.net). For those who miss the computer games from decades past, the Internet Archive has uploaded emulations of classic games to Handheld History, a free digital library, allowing for old-school experiences on modern computers. Although dubbed “Handheld History,” the collection of over 70 games includes emulations of both handheld game consoles and tabletop machines. They date from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, offering a nostalgic trip through some of the greatest hits of gaming history, including Coleco’s Frogger and Donkey Kong, Tiger Electronic’s Mortal Kombat and Sonic the Hedgehog, and even Texas Instruments’ Speak & Spell. While many of these games still exist in their original, clunky form, the consoles themselves are disappearing. Documenting and researching them now is a vital act of cultural preservation, as archivist Jason Scott writes. For that reason, the Internet Archive’s collection presents the emulations with photographs of their original systems and, when possible, digitized versions of their instruction manuals. Handheld History will continue to grow, and is the result of laborious work by developers for the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME), which has for years been recreating the hardware of arcade games for more modern platforms (hyperallergic.com). Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is only five days away. On April 29, take a photo with a lensless camera and upload the picture to http://pinholeday.org/. Visit the site for participation details. And now to our featured readers. Glen Torrefranca, seafarer with a passion for photography sent in an untitled photo of the terrain on Mararison Island. His photo description reads: “Just 15 minutes boat ride from mainland Culasi, Antique, Mararison  is a 55-hectare unspoiled island blessed with picturesque mountain ridges and crystal clear blue water. Rolling hills are decorated with pitcher plants—a rare insect-eating plant usually found in the forest. A trek along the rolling hills takes around an hour (but for us it took a couple of hours because we’re  taking a lot of pictures) and requires a local guide for security purposes. The journey will take you to the western coast overlooking Nablag Islet, one of the best spots to see the sunset. Local guides are readily available at P250 per guide of one to four persons. Aside from the rolling hills, the white sand beach and its attached sandbar are the prime features of Mararison Island. The sandbar on its western tip emerges substantially during low tide and is present only during the summer and amihan or southeast monsoon season. This spot offers a panoramic view of the sunrise on the backdrop of Mount Madjaas and mainland Antique. Elena Taeza shares her photo, “Mang Carlos ng Pamarawan.” Pamarawan is an island municipality in the jurisdiction of Malolos City, Bulacan. “Kasalukuyan po siyang nagbibilad ng mga dinaing na isda ng kanyang anak na kanilang pinagkukuhanan ng kabuhayan,” she writes. The photo titled “Nostalgic” comes from Jobert Zyrus Cadiente. Reads his photo description: “Nature and humans have always reasons to be matched with each other. They are complementary. They can create a scenic landscape.” Jovanne Amolat, licensed electronics engineer from Bohol and mobile photographer submitted the photo titled “Column Step.” “The photo shows the huge pillars of the beautiful facade of St. Francis Parish Church in Balamban, Cebu,” he writes. Lanz Castañeda of Ibaan, Batangas contributed the photo, “Solo.” He shares: Pagkatapos ng ulan isang umaga, ako at ang aking mga kasama ay nag-atubiling bumaba at maglakad sa dagat bagama’t  low tide na. Sa aking paglalakad ay napansin ko ang isang puno ng mangrove na nakahiwalay sa karamihan, parang reflection ng isang pamilya na hinayaan ang anak upang subukan ang tatag, kung pano mamuhay ng mag-isa at kung hanggang saan ito aabot. Sa kalaunan ay mapapagtagumpayan ito kagaya ng nasa larawan sa likod ng pag-iisa ay may maganda sa paningin ng iba. Kaya naman ‘Solo’ ang aking titulo sa larawang ito.” From Taiwan, OFW Ruby Ross Morillo sent in the untitled photo of a statue of mythological figures taken in Tainan, Taiwan. She shares that photography is her “stress and homesickness reliever.” Bien Bacarra Jr.’s “Way of the Cross” was taken during a street play performance last Good Friday. “I wanted to capture the man who portrayed Jesus but making his face unseen,” writes Bien. “Covering his face by the sun’s ray made it possible.” “Pancake Master” comes from Harlene Ang. She writes: “Sharing my photo from our last trip in Korea. Went to a wet market for a foodtrip. People are so busy running their business and this woman cooked beancurd pancake and it is so delicious!” From hobbyist photographer Michael John Breiva is a silhouette photo titled “Kababata.” And Kevin Aquino contributed the inverted reflection photo titled “Panganganinag.”   Readers may now view issues of Picture Perfect including this column at www.mb.com.ph. For comments, suggestions or just to share an image or idea, email [email protected] or [email protected].