Check out what 30 years of imaging advancements can do

[strongmanmike]

30 years of imaging (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/156219462/original) (scroll down)

We have come a long way huh? :thumbsup:

Mike

[alpal]

Makes you wonder what you'll produce when you're 77.

Well done.

cheers
Allan

[cybereye]

Mike,

It amazes me that at the age of 17 you had fashioned a chilled film camera, let alone been able to image M104 as well as you did! :thumbsup:

It is incredible how far we've come in the last 30 years, not only in imaging technology but also scope technology. I look at the new GSO 16" RC scopes on an EQ8 as something that is now very much affordable. Even 5 years ago this would have been unthinkable for me! I wonder how many high powered telescopes are peering skywards each night in the world compared to 30 years ago? I hazard a guess that it would be several orders of magnitude!

Love the M104 comparison and the image of you in an "Adidas style" tracksuit top - 4 stripes versus 3! I think everyone had one in those days! :D

Cheers,
Mario

PS 30 years ago I was playing First Grade Rugby League... in Adelaide!

[rustigsmed]

awesome comparo Mike.
in another 30 years? adaptive optics for amateurs? iTelescope from orbit?

[Rod771]

Wow! Both images are great!

Makes you sit back and appreciate what we can achieve.

I bet you couldn't stop looking at that exposure back in 1984, its very good.

[Chris.B]

Boy oh boy have we come a long way.
Great shots the both of them. Thanks for putting this up.

[cometcatcher]

I'm still taking pictures like yours 30 years ago. Maybe in another 30 years I can take M104 like you do now...

[LewisM]

Good God, he was a skinny runt once :) ;)

Just have to love the latest M104. Just fantastic detail and fidelity.

[RickS]

We have come a long way in astro imaging indeed, Mikey! Not sure about fashion though :lol:

Both great M104 images for their time :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Rick.

[strongmanmike]

Hey thanks for all the nice comments guys, ah sighhh memories.. always good to look back huh?

Oh and I was 100kg in that photo by the way...always a lump and OI!..what's wrong with the Adidas tracky :shrug: :ashamed: :lol:

Cold cameras, always thought they were the Holy Grail :question:

Mike

[gts055]

Both images are excellent for their time, but I guess the 1984 image was more a challenge given the equipment available back then.
Can you tell how you came to get to use the Oddie refractor back in 1984. That would have been an exciting thing to do for anyone let alone a 17 year old. Mark

[cometcatcher]

They still are. Turn the cooling off your CCD and see what happens. :P

[Kunama]

That brings back some memories Mike, it was 5 years earlier that I first sat in that chair back in 1979 peering through the Oddie

[h0ughy]

a legend and over 25 years now an antique relic. great to see

[hobbit]

HP5?
I use that in my TLR. Had no idea it had been around so long.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks everyone :thumbsup:



Yes the Oddie had an annoying approx 10" jump in the drive gear which had to be anticipated in order to guide it out by pulling on long string cords that acted as the drive corrector ...as you can see form the 84 shot we weren't all that successful there :lol:

The Oddie was available to secondary college students (Yr 11/12) in Canberra as well as members of the Canberra Astronomical Society, both of which I was.



30 years even :P



It was a fanstastic scope indeed, a long focal length 9" refractor is a killer visual instrument.



Ah yes HP5 not very sensitive without chilling I remember :question:

[MrB]

I still have a 30m bulk roll in my fridge :lol:

[Ric]

Great pictures Mike

Not sure if your balancing act conforms to OH&S standards.:D

[strongmanmike]

Meeeah, nothing has changed (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/150134858/original) then I guess :P

MIike

[RB]

Romans love their statues..... :P

[stevous67]

It's a very impressive timeline you have Mike, well done! Keep it up.

Steve

[strongmanmike]

He he yeah, only broken from 1993 to 2002 while I was trying to become the worlds strongest man :screwy: :lol: got close but no cigar...astronomy and astroimaging is much less strenuous :thumbsup:

Mike

[cybereye]

Depends how big your scope is... :astron: I have trouble getting all my stuff inside if it starts to rain - too damn heavy!!! :help:

Cheers,
Mario

[Paramount]

Great comparison Mike, and as people have mentioned it's good to see how the advancements in technology have made such a difference
Best wishes
Gordon

[Merlin66]

Ah....the memories...
What you need is a 30min exposure using a C5 with today's CCD....that would make an interesting comparison.

[LewisM]

True dat! The challenge has been set - there's even a C5 in the trader right now. Get to it Michelangelo!

[strongmanmike]

Amazing really, huh? :thumbsup:





Actually, I almost did that HERE (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/140147438/original) - both 30min of data, one taken with a C5 at 1300mm FL the other AG12 at 1120mm FL

Mike

[niharika]

Mike, I fond this post very aspiring for various reasons. Looking forward to another comparison from you in 2044 :)

[strongmanmike]

Yeah, at 77 suuuurely I will be automated by then :rolleyes: :question:...or perhaps setting up my own space telescope each night :D

Mike

[phobos27]

What a great comparison! It is great to see how far we have come with imaging over this time! That last photo is awesome!

Keep up the good work.

[strongmanmike]

Believe it or not in 1984 that B&W photo of the Sombrero galaxy was actually of quite a good standard for amateurs...hard to imagine huh? :lol:

Mike

[cometcatcher]

Oh I can imagine it. Been there, done that, still doing it. :P But it was fun wasn't it? With hopes high, not knowing what would come of it until the film was developed.

[strongmanmike]

We didn't know any different...as we still don't, that's just what we did. The future is very hard to imagine or predict :)

Mike

[cometcatcher]

I predict that whatever equipment we use, we will still be taking many hours to capture deep sky. That one factor doesn't seem to change...

[strongmanmike]

Yeah maybe...but lets hope not :prey:

(real) adaptive optics would be good :thumbsup:

Mike

[el_draco]

Yeah, I remember reading a book by Jack Newton in my teens and thinking the images were awe inspiring, which, of course they were for the time. The state of the art stuff from back then rates as basic first attempts these days..... Amazing when I sometimes struggle to pick the amateur work from Hubblle!