Gnome Cosmos Background (The Space /Astronomy Changing Pictures Background)
With thanks to this guy, I finally found how to create and manage my own Gnome changing wallpaper. I like downloading pictures from Astronomy Picture of the Day, and I've wanted to add them to Gnome's space themed changing wallpaper. Gnome's wallpaper XML file isn't as slick as dumping pictures in a designated folder (although I'm sure there is something out there that does that), but it works well enough.
XML File Format
<background>
<starttime>
<year>2009</year>
<month>08</month>
<day>04</day>
<hour>00</hour>
<minute>00</minute>
<second>00</second>
</starttime>
<static>
<duration>time in milliseconds to display image</duration>
<file>/absolute/path/to/image/file</file>
</static>
<transition>
<duration>time in ms to transition image</duration>
<from>/absolute/path/to/current/image/file</from>
<to>/absolute/path/to/next/image/file</to>
</transition>
</background>
Usage
Simply place the XML file in a location where you can edit and find it quickly. Personally, I saved the pictures (and XML file) in ~/backgrounds
