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Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's

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frigg
12/01/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
The shots are beautiful and what this guy achieved is amazing. But you can't really compare the beauty of these shots to what NASA captures with Hubble. The images taken by Hubble are just the tip of a science juggernaut. The data that's generated by "big science" reveals insights into the universe beyond beautiful wallpapers. For example, Hubble can capture images from the nascent universe shortly after the Big Bang. Not sure how far back in time you can go from your backyard.
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Sora57
11/30/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
My cat wears that galaxy on the top right on his collar. Seriously, though, all images from nasa missions are photoshopped/manipulated in some way or another. Composites of many photos with enhanced colorization, etc. Tough to tell what you would REALLY see out your window if you were flying around up there. Maybe a toolbox from the latest shuttle mission?
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UberDuper
11/30/08

@Sora57:

These images are pretty much what you would see if you were capable of seeing these objects with the naked eye. The H9C is a "one shot color" camera. Basically a standard bayer filter CCD like what you'd find in a prosumer digital camera.

In fact, if you took a 15 minute exposure of Pleiades (the one with all the blue stars) using a Canon XTi with a 600mm lens you'd get similar results, tho extremely noisy and less detailed. It takes many more exposures and processing to bring out the wisps and the detail of the above photo.

In most cases, Photoshop is just used to adjust luminance, saturation or color balance when it needs to be corrected. Sometimes it's used to tighten stars or add those pretty star bursts (not on these photos tho). Sometimes it's used to do a layered image when you have a really bright object next to a dim one and you can't get the dim one without blowing out the bright one. Most photographers try to stay true to the original.

UD.
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Sora57
12/01/08

@UberDuper: Thanks for the good info. I'm not suggesting anyone is creating material that is not there-- I do believe that that the photogs try to accurately present what is out there. It's just that with long exposures and color enhancing and layering photos to show dim objects otherwise hidden by bright objects, the naked eye would not see what these cameras and their processing are capable of displaying. And that's fine with me.
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enchanted goose
11/30/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
ok so basically the pictures are just photoshopped? okay back to hubble...
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Jesus Diaz
11/30/08

@enchantedgoose: can you read?

Do you think that Hubble's photographs are not post-processed.

Read. Learn. Comment.
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JDisnidiet
12/01/08

@Jesus Diaz: Learn English, then write.@antitrust311: Aw, isn't that precious. Lil' Antitrust struggled in another country. That's just so cute. Therefore, Jesus gets to write in pseudo-English, and he tries so hard. He obviously never heard of hiring a proof reader or using a spell check program. Nope, he's an immigrant and publishes his drivel on the internet. Therefore anything goes, and we should praise him. I think not - he is illiterate in at least one langauage, and if he wrote in Spanish, then we could check his work in that language.

I truly don't care what you do at work, as I don't have to read it in English or Japanese. And since you are a betting person, what can I say, but you lose.

Glad to hear Jesus is from Spain - I was concerned that Mexico shared a border with Blighty.

And, I shall continue to read and comment on Jesus' writing - at least for now, this is a free country.
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Gann
12/01/08

@JDisnidiet: The internet is a free country? Assuming that was just a poor analogy and you do not in fact believe that the internet is completely contained within America, allow me to point out that the freedom you enjoy is at the whim of the almighty banhammer. I would describe it more as a benevolent dictatorship than a "free country".
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JDisnidiet
12/01/08

@Gann: I was referring to the country in which I live. You know the one, where Al Gore invented the internet, before eating a planet, er, fighting global warming.

So bring on the banhammer, as you call it, if you think that would do any good. Even if I didn't point out the terrible writing that goes on here, I could still read it and know that it was bad. And keep defending Jesus - it endears you to the wise, literate and powerful, and we all know how they do so like toadies.
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Gann
12/01/08

@JDisnidiet: I suppose it wouldn't matter to you if I pointed out that nothing I said actually defended Jesus.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/30/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
Truly beautiful. I so want one.
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WEGGLES90
11/30/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
How long are these exposure times?
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max crabb
11/30/08

@WEGGLES90: I prefer not to use that old "let me google that for you" insult, so here's a wiki!

[en.wikipedia.org]

(And now I'm going to look up how to hot link in html!)
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IN THE FACE!
11/30/08

@max crabb: doing textbook HTML won't help you here, you have to do the normal html tags but not close them and move to a new line (i.e. no >). I only bother using HTML when I want to post a pic, doing it for links on this site is a PITA.
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polishedturd
11/30/08

In reply to Homemade Backyard Digital Observatory's Spectacular Images Rivals Hubble's
Very cool.

This may sound a bit cheesy, but it impresses me sometimes what humans can do with minimal tools/supplies (though 15K is a fair bit of moolah, I have to admit, but you know what I mean).

Probably why I like all them "survive in the wild" shows on the Discovery Channel.
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lpranal
11/30/08

@Lightman: Bear Grylls would probably rig up some kind of fresnel-lensed telescope using frog eyes and palm branches
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max crabb
11/30/08

@lpranal: And Les Stroud would hunt down and kill Bear in his native environment... a hotel.
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IN THE FACE!
11/30/08

@max crabb: Took the words right out of my mouth. I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows that...

Bear Grylls = Asshat.
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