Original Repository Credits:

This script is inspired by and adapted from the moon-phase-background repository by desertplant. The original script was designed for Linux Mint Cinnamon, and this adaptation brings similar functionality to Windows using Python.

moon-phase-background

Change background picture to high resolution picture of the current moon phase from NASA

This Python script downloads a high-resolution image of the current moon phase from NASA's Dial-A-Moon website NASA Dial-A-Moon, overlays it onto a background image of stars, labels the image with the phase in percent and the age of the current moon cycle, and sets it as a background image on Windows.

best.tif is an example picture. (Resolution 5641x3650 by default, 8192x5641 is possible too.)

For automatic desktop background updates, it is recommended to run the script on a schedule using Task Scheduler.

The downloaded images are deleted immediately to avoid polluting storage.

Requirements:

• Python 3.x.x
• ImageMagick (Ensure 'magick' is in the system's PATH)

Installation:

1. Clone the repository wherever you want to.
2. Execute setup_environment.bat
3. Wait for the time to be a close hour. Ex: 12:00

It will download a moon image file, change your desktop background, and then delete the downloaded image again (to avoid polluting storage space). The file back.tif is your new background image now.

Configuration:

• Resolution:

  • Default resolution: 5631x3640
  • For 8192x5641: Set isBig = true in the script.
  • For lower resolutions, more complex changes may be needed.

• Positioning:

  • Size and position of moon and text field customizable by changing ImageMagick commands.

• Background Image:

  • best_small.tif is the default background image for isBig = false (best.tif for isBig = true).
  • Can be replaced with a different background image.

• System:

  • Made for Windows.
  • No adjustment needed for system compatibility.

Uninstall

To uninstall, simply delete the folder with all the files you downloaded. Don't forget to remove any Task Scheduler tasks or references you may have created.

Image Credits:

The moon phase image is downloaded from NASA's Dial-A-Moon website: NASA Dial-A-Moon. Thank you to NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio for creating these high-resolution visualizations of the moon and making them available to the public. For more information about how these images were created and on the moon itself, see the link above.

Example Image: