Having been imaging the heavens for some 33 years now, I have some old data that is very interesting to compare to recent efforts, to see just how far we have come in this imaging game....
Here is a comparison between my latest Centaurus A image with one I captured way back in 1984 as a teenager using what was then somehwat advanced amateur astrophotographic equipment too
Also incredible is that the same two photographers were present on each occasion...Attila and I are still good friends, even after all this time, which is really cool too.
This is the Cold Camera we built and was used for the 1984 shot..and in fairness, the 1984 shot is a photo of an old print.
Bit of nostalgic fun for the long weekend
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 06-06-2015 at 01:47 PM.
It's amazing what the results of technology, techniques, and knowledge can yield. Did you have fewer satellites in the images back then? I have on sub with just under 20 satellite trails through it. I hate those guys...
Good post Mike,
By the way - your PM email box is full so no one can reply to your emails.
cheers
Allan
Glad to hear Al and Fixed
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod771
Love this!
I can only image the excitement you experienced when seeing your result in 1984. Both are very excellent images Mike!
I was playing with Masters of the Universe figures in 1984!
Oh yeah! Waiting to see the negatives after chemical development in the wardrobe the excitement was palpable and followed by shrill exclamations of "you can see the dust lane!!" when looking at the still wet negative strip through a small magnifier and the sense of achievement and satisfaction was huge when finally seeing a developed print under white light....some time later
Quote:
Originally Posted by IanP
What a difference, Mr. Michael? Did you have C5 then?
Ahhh, well, as indicated, yes...it was actually Attila's scope
Quote:
Originally Posted by TR
It's amazing what the results of technology, techniques, and knowledge can yield. Did you have fewer satellites in the images back then? I have on sub with just under 20 satellite trails through it. I hate those guys...
Great post.
Terry
It is really fascinating to see I recon Terry, that photo even formed part of a multi award winning display at the time too ...the standard required has certainly increased
Love these comparisons Mike. You were in the right place at the right time to have access to the facilities and people by sounds of it - and made damn good use of your time.
Can't help but suspect you had just as much awe and excitement when you saw the blurry expose of a distant galaxy 31 years ago versus that recent splendid rendition?
Love these comparisons Mike. You were in the right place at the right time to have access to the facilities and people by sounds of it - and made damn good use of your time.
Local secondary colleges here in the ACT had access to the old 9" Oddie refractor as did members of the Canberra Astronomical Society, both of which covered me at the time. The Celestron 5, cold camera, fridge compressor (vacuum pump) etc were all ours, we just used the Oddie as the tracking platform, which wasn't all that accurate in fact and required attentive hand guiding via curtain like pull cords to re position the guide star
Quote:
Can't help but suspect you had just as much awe and excitement when you saw the blurry expose of a distant galaxy 31 years ago versus that recent splendid rendition?
Yep, you are totally right...although I have had lots of eye time processing Centaurus A now of course
Just shows how much the galaxy has changed in 31 years
The only astro-photo I took back then was of a solar eclipse, taken by placing a dry gum-leaf at the primary focus of my hand-made 6". The one second F/8 exposure punched a nice half-inch crescent-shaped hole in the leaf and made a nice perfume. Didn't need developing, but the fixer bath was the swimming pool. Betimes you were photographing galaxies!
I compared one of my early Jupiter pics taken with my 450D on the lx90. Three or four subs.
Mount Palomar is a 200 inch so should have a wonderful result.
Pics from Palomar are from 1970 book by Patrick Moore.
Progress in the rt s just amazing.
Great comparison Mike!
31 years ago you would have been rapt with that image - today your subs probably look better. Amazing what technology and experience can do.
Good comparison Mike. I well remember when I would have been absolutely overjoyed to get an image like the one on the left. There were lots of Centaurus A attempts floating around in those days because in general it's a pretty forgiving galaxy. I still remember the supernova in it I missed once because I failed to look at the image closely enough.
This composition is quite remarkable. I find deep thought. Both for what has been the evolution of imaging, and I think also a beautiful story of friendship,
Thanks for sharing,
Cheers,
Fabiomax
Great comparison Mike!
31 years ago you would have been rapt with that image - today your subs probably look better. Amazing what technology and experience can do.
Tony.
Yep, amazing Tony
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevec35
Good comparison Mike. I well remember when I would have been absolutely overjoyed to get an image like the one on the left. There were lots of Centaurus A attempts floating around in those days because in general it's a pretty forgiving galaxy. I still remember the supernova in it I missed once because I failed to look at the image closely enough.
As I said, that comparison shot taken with the C5 is a photo taken of an old B&W 8X10 print done in 1985 so the original result was slightly superior but still..no comparison regardless
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fabiomax
This composition is quite remarkable. I find deep thought. Both for what has been the evolution of imaging, and I think also a beautiful story of friendship,
Thanks for sharing,
Cheers,
Fabiomax
Thanks Fabio, I sent this comparison to Attila for him to see too and he was pretty blown away by it and yes it is great that we have continued to do this crazy dark art together for so long and we both remember that night way back in 1984 very well, it was a lot of work to get setup and then pack up (not to mention the work that went into constructing the camera and mounting gear) and then develop the negative and print the print...but we knew no different...so we just did it
Nostalgic yet interesting comparison.
Apart from the clear advance in technology (your today image is better than the best effort one could take with the Siding Spring Schmidt on plates) another important thing to notice is that.. we are getting old
In 1984 I took my first image of the sky (I am just a bit younger than you), fixed tripod, color slide (a Kodak 400 asa, don't remember the name, the fastest I found), 50mm lens f/2.8 and a Nikkormat body borrowed from my father (that was I believe already 20 years old at that time). Target was Orion, from my backyard. Well, when I got it back from the lab and projected on the wall, I spent hours in awe admiring the little pinky smudge of m42. I still believe that the emotions those first images produced (along with some few one more that followed as I home-built my first barndoor tracking device) cannot be matched even by the best result I could get today with my current equipment (or even larger)..
That is nostalgic
...the standard required has certainly increased 
Just shows how much the galaxy has changed in 31 years 
and made a nice perfume. Didn't need developing, but the fixer bath was the swimming pool. Betimes you were photographing galaxies! 
