Archives 2010

August 3, 2010 The Shroud Scope is online

The first version of the Shroud Scope is now online. It is available under the menu bar Tools→Shroud Scope.

The Shroud Scope can display high-resolution photographs of the Shroud of Turin based on a zoom-in and -out mechanism, let users do length measurements on them, and more. Two photographs are currently provided: Enrie 1931 and Durante 2002. At the highest zoom level, the Durante 2002 resolution is 0.17 mm per pixel. Please consult the online documentation for more information.

The Shroud Scope presents the highest resolution photograph of the Shroud of Turin on the Web, worldwide.

Hopefully the performance of the Shroud Scope is adequate when many users access it. If you would like to report performance issues while using the Shroud Scope, you can send us an email using the address listed under contact (top menu bar). We are particularly interested by how fast the photographs load when you are using the Shroud Scope. Note that parts of the photographs are typically cached (saved) on your computer. So, your first use of the Shroud Scope might be slow, but speed will increase after a while. If you can report your location (e.g., US, Europe) and which browsers you are using, this will be helpful.

If you have visited this Web site before, you might have noticed some cosmetic changes and that the vertical left menu bar has been redesigned and moved as an horizontal top menu bar. The left menu bar has been replaced by links to entries in this page. Hopefully this makes it easier to navigate this Web site. The top menu bar makes it possible to use the full width of the Web page for such tools as the Shroud Scope.

May 23, 2010 The Shroud of Turin exposition ended today in Turin, Italy. According to news reports, over 2 million people lined up to see the Shroud. I believe this is a record.

The following are two photographs taken right before a group is allowed to view the Shroud and the Shroud itself in its protective climate controlled case in the Turin Cathedral.

A group of pilgrims just before viewing the Shroud. Two groups could move at the same time in front of the Shroud, one on an elevated platform to be able to see over the first lower group closer to the Shroud. (© Mario Latendresse)

This is the Shroud in its protective climate controlled case as exposed in the Turin Cathedral. The frontal image is on the left, whereas the dorsal image is on the right. The radiocarbon dating sample was taken, in 1988, from the top left corner. Not readily visible at this distance on this photograph: the triangle shaped holes are no longer covered by any patches as they used to be prior to 2002. This is one of the main changes to the look of the Shroud since its 2000 exposition. I also noticed that the Shroud appears to have less creases and wrinkles compared to the 1998 exposition. Click on the photograph for a larger version in another window. (© Mario Latendresse)

It is unknown when the Shroud will be exposed again, although 2025 is a year to write down as a possibility, but I have a guess: when the next exposition will take place a new radiocarbon dating will have been done. This is not such a wild guess as the Turin authorities are open to a second radiocarbon dating proposal as long as it is properly put together. This statement is from Bruno Barberis, the director of International Centre of Sindonology in Turin. Yet, it is true that things move at a very slow pace around the Shroud.

Meanwhile I am working to put together a summary of the Frascati workshop on acheiropoietos images, soon to be seen on this Web site.

(May 20, 2010) I decided to postpone for two weeks the launching of the Shroud Scope tool. The main reason is that I just received new high definition photographs that I feel need to be part of the Shroud Scope. These new images are definitely worth waiting for. They pose, though, some technical challenge as they are more than 500MB in size. In any case, I intend to make them publicly accessible via the Shroud Scope. I believe that these will be the highest resolution Shroud photographs available on the Web.

(January 10, 2010) As with any new year, the previous year postings are archived. The menu on the left has now a new entry for 2009. You might be interested in reading the 2009 posts before new posts are created for 2010. An upcoming post will be on the Byzantine coins and the Shroud.

A scientific conference related to the Shroud is being organized by Paolo Di Lazzaro in May. See International Workshop on the Scientific Approach to the Acheiropoietos Images for more details.

The main event in 2010 for the Shroud is the coming exposition in Turin from April 10th to May 23th. Visitors will be able to see the Shroud in the cathedral. This will be the first time that the Shroud of Turin is shown after the 2002 restoration. The patches covering the burned holes were removed and the old holland backing cloth was replaced by a new one.

You can see the Turin cathedral below, via Google Map. You can pan left, right, down, and up the map by clicking the image and moving the mouse. You can also do a virtual tour of Turin using this map. By double clicking when an oval is shown, typically in the street or sidewalk, you will be able to change your point of view in the map at the location of the double-click.