I remember seeing the likes of these images years ago and then looking at probe images with wonder. Having been a part of this imaging revolution it is gratifying now after spreading the word at public talks (along with many others) and out on the internet to finally see a true recognition of our efforts by images being published in such journals as Icarus, Nature and the like.
When I first started planetary imaging in 2004; planetary imaging was considered as no more than an amusing frustration and at worst I heard it referred to as being a bit of a joke ("that ain't real imaging mate"). In the eight years since the hardware, processing software and processing techniques have radically changed the way we all look upon ultra high resolution imaging. Now only seeing sets most great imagers apart when there was a time that only one young man dominated this scene (even Don Parker was amazed at Damians skills at the time). His images of the time were nothing to compare to todays images but his images were still way better than any other imager on the planet.
Where will it all end. There are obvious limitations (physics takes care of that) and we are approaching this boundary. Sorry if you think an Iphone will ever take images like we are now, then think again. Optical resolution cannot be usurped by any trickery of software. You will note that most of us are now buying bigger and bigger telescopes to get more resolution. My plan is to buy a 20RCX in the coming years, Anthony is talking about an 18" down the track and no doubt Trevor will consider this in time as well. Not to mention top guys over seas. Nearly everyone has a 14" or larger (some notable exceptions are present here). More light means faster frame rates and better freezing of the seeing. The cameras will only go so fast in the end. So be happy with producing orbit style images and forget any dream of viewing Valles up close and personal. Even Hubble cannot do that.
yes, scary isn't it.
