2/6/2025 | 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Regency A

JPI-first (JPI-0196): Experimental investigation of depth cues for small-field light sources in darkness

Author(s)

Yuko Harada | Chiba University
Midori Tanaka | Chiba University
Takahiko Horiuchi | Chiba University

Abstract

In recent years, the effects of light pollution have become significant, and the need for image reproduction of a faithful and preferred starry sky has increased. Previous studies have analyzed the relationship between the luminance, size, and color temperature of stars and the fidelity and preference of their appearance, as well as color perception. This study examines the depth perception of stars. We consider star images as a set of "small-field light sources" that can be viewed as point light sources with minimal viewing angles. Our goal was to experimentally elucidate the cues for depth perception. In the experiment, we asked observers to watch two points of different size, luminance, and color temperature and to select the one perceived in front to confirm the relationship between the three depth cues of retinal image size, light attenuation, and color, and their association with depth perception. The experimental results confirmed that retinal image size and light attenuation were effective for a small-field light source. These results suggest that the interaction between the retinal image size and light attenuation may be explained by retinal illuminance. However, the effect of color was small, and the point with higher saturation was slightly more likely to be perceived in front of it when the hue was close to that of the point.