Lunar image website - layout connundrum.

[michaelmorris]

I've recently being doing an awful lot of lunar imaging (over 20 targets in 5 days!). Most of these will eventually find ther way on to my observatory website

At the moment, these are arranged on the webpage simply in the order in which they were taken. This was fine to begin with, but, with probably 50 new images to add over the next 12 months, this is now getting unwieldly.

I'm looking for inspiration about how to redesign this page.

As I see it, I could arrange the images in many different ways.

1) Feature type (basins, craters, domes, scarps etc).

2) Alphabetical list of features.

3) Chronological order (when picture was taken)

4) Lunar 100 list

5) Rukl page number

6) Hatfield page number

It might be practical to have the same images ordered using different criteria on separate but linked pages. I can see Pros and Cons in all the types of systems. What I don't have is an infinite amount of time (or webspace)!

What I'm after are your thoughts and opinions and examples of different layouts and ordering systems.

[Talitha]

#1 and #2 seem best to me.

#3 is how you have it now, right? A bit disorganised if you want to find anything, IMO.

#4 #5 and #6 might be nice additions to the text accompanying each image, but I wouldn't use them as a theme to base a webpage arrangement around.

Although #1 would be the ideal way to classify things, it might be difficult for new lunar observers to find 'Rupes Recta' unless they know it's a scarp. So I guess #2 is the one I'd go with if it were my website.

[michaelmorris]

After much deliberation here is what I've come up with:

http://almiraobservatory.awardspace.com/OBSMoonmain.html

I feel it gives me a reasonable compromise between usefulness and ease of maintenance. The 'Latest Lunar Images' section makes it easy for me to get my pictures uploaded quickly, yet gives me the flexibility to then add them to the full webpages when I can get around to it.

[kniclander]

nice images - really nicely set out on the website -it works very well

[AstroDonut]

I've seen combo box use before on websites, have the values of a combo box relate to the different type of lunar object (Bay, Cape, Crater, Craterlet, Craters Chain, Dome, Dome System, Ejecta, Lake, Marsh, Mountain, Mountain Range, Plain, Pyroclastic Area, Rille, Sea) then when the Lunar object is selected it opens a page with the images listed in alphabetical order of the chosen object.

I can do a bit of html work, not good at providing code examples, i'm more of a demo guy.

If I can help enhance your site, give me a shout

Got to say that I absolutely love the observatory design, I'm looking at building one in my garden (can roll the roof over the bit where my car sits ), as I'm sick of having to set up my telescope every time I get a decent clear sky.