git:20261010.9696da4 to git:20261013.29afc4f
8 added, 0 removed. Audit A to A.
# Night Shift Direction
## Chosen direction
Treat the page as a quiet night field guide: two image records are the instrument, and the interface behaves like a page marker between scales. The wide DSS2 field establishes context; the Hubble ACS observation resolves the encounter. The first screen is dark enough for the material to remain visible, but the type is clear and restrained rather than a generic neon space dashboard.
## Alternatives
- A dense observatory dashboard: useful for repeated measurement, but it makes a single astronomical image feel like a data tile.
- A cinematic full-screen space poster: memorable, but it hides the actual reading task and source trail.
- A field guide with two source scales: chosen. It makes the wide field and Hubble detail materially distinct while keeping the same M51 encounter, facts, controls, and provenance visible.
## Material decisions
- `m51-galaxy.jpg` supplies the wide DSS2 field and `m51-hubble.jpg` supplies the Hubble ACS pair/core view. Each image keeps its own record and credit.
- Sora handles navigation and measurements; Newsreader handles the field note.
- Paper, ink, blue, and coral are derived from the inspected Hubble image rather than a purple space gradient.
- Grouping uses open image stages, spacing, tone, and named feature markers. Repeated cards, decorative star fields, and fake telemetry are rejected.
- The view transition has a purpose: it changes the scale and material of the observation. Reduced motion keeps the final view and controls usable.
+ ## Regional Composition
+
+ The opening establishes the encounter in a bounded image field on desktop; the narrow opening shows the complete pair above the reading copy. The overview now uses three local relationships in one open field: the orientation marker starts at the left edge, the short title and explanatory copy occupy a bounded start-aligned reading measure, and the facts sit as a quiet right-hand record. At intermediate widths the facts regroup beneath the reading block; on phones the whole field returns to normal flow with the same start edge. No page-wide center axis is implied.
+
+ The reading instrument sits in a 1240px field; its 1080px working relationship gives the image a maximum 740px stage beside 300px controls. Below 900px, the explanation joins the heading before the image and controls stack. The paper note is a continuous band with its own reading measure, a 380px crop, and serif observation type. Below 900px, copy precedes the smaller end-positioned crop; the image is limited to 280px on phones. The source field is open and bounded at 1080px, with compact start-aligned headings and records that regroup before the columns squeeze. Outer viewport margin and distance from a painted surface's edge are inspected separately.
+
+ These are decisions for M51's reading distances, not defaults for other websites. The latest comparison, eight actual viewport snapshots from 320px to 1920px, the 2026-10-11 mixed-alignment browser readback, image-failure state, source switching, and reduced-motion observations are recorded in `../artifacts/layout-study/RESEARCH.md` and `../artifacts/layout-study/night-shift-alignment-followup.md`. Earlier PNG captures are historical and do not verify this CSS revision.
+
## Source and rights
The local wide-field image is the 7095x6219 DSS2 reproduction recorded in `../shared/assets/m51-source.json`; its official page identifies ESA/Hubble and Digitized Sky Survey 2. The local close image is a 6000x4164 rendition of the Hubble ACS observation heic0506a, recorded in `../shared/assets/m51-hubble-source.json`. The page keeps the full applicable credits beside the relevant records and links the ESA/Hubble reuse policy.