66 ASTRONOMY t FEBRUARY 2014T
his will be my final
column. It has been
a pleasure sharing
what I could about
imaging and pro-
cessing with you for the past
three years. Now, however, it is
time for me to retool and rein-
vent myself. And that will be the
topic of this last article.
The refuse heap of astroim-
agers is littered with luminaries
who appeared like flashes of
light, burned for a few years,
and then left the avocation.
Each had their own reason for
leaving, but I suspect that the
underlying cause is that it
became too much of the same
old thing. Shoot another nebula
... ho-hum ... shoot another
galaxy ... more of the same.
To keep things moving for-
ward, it is vital that you discoversome way to reinvent yourself.
You can do this in two ways,
and ideally, you will do it both
ways at the same time. First, you
can invest in new optics and
imaging equipment that will
further your capabilities. Sec-
ond, you can study new soft-
ware and new techniques to
improve your processing skills.
Except for this column and
the lecture circuit, I basically
have been in hibernation for aCOSMICIMAGING
BY TONY HALLASfew years. My equipment was
not keeping pace with my abili-
ties as I learned more and more
about imaging.
To remedy this situation, I
have invested in new equip-
ment. I plan to use one of my
telescope purchases — a rich-
field refractor — at my ultra-
dark sky site in northeastern
California. And so that I won’t
always have to travel several
hours to use the latest and great-
est, I’ll put the other scope — a
large Cassegrain reflector — in
my home observatory.
Do you need high-end equip-
ment to make extremely good
images? Not necessarily, but it
sure helps. High-quality equip-
ment makes the avocation more
exciting as well. Which one of
you would prefer a 3-inch ach-
romat to a state-of-the-art
6-inch apochromatic triplet?
Silly question.
The other way to keep pro-
gressing is to continue learning
all you can about imaging and
image processing. My personal
motto is, “You’re only as good as
your last shot.” What this means
is that if you didn’t learn some-
thing new with your last image,
if you didn’t push your envelope
just a little bit, then you are not
moving forward. Thankfully,most of you will find that each
new image brings new chal-
lenges and progress is almost
automatic. To a large extent,
doing is learning.
How can you stay on top of
things? One of the best ways is
to attend get-togethers like the
Advanced Imaging Conference
held in California each year. Not
only do acknowledged leaders
in the hobby make presenta-
tions, but astroimagers teach
classes as well.
Another thing you can do is
join your local astronomy club
— you’ll be surprised how much
“brain power” a collective
resource like this can produce.
Many tutorials are available in
print and on the Internet now.
Just when you think you finally
might know everything ... sur-
prise ... there’s something new.
Amateur astrophotography is
currently in a golden age. We
have telescopes and cameras
unheard of just 10 years ago.
Powerful processing software
makes full use of the photons
these instruments gather. Our
hobby’s future appears bright.
My final wish for all of you is
that you continue to grow in
this field and continue to rein-
vent yourselves. The sky truly is
the limit.After three years of sharing imaging tips, I’m moving on.The final chapter
BROWSE THE “COSMIC IMAGING” ARCHIVE AT http://www.Astronomy.com/Hallas.Electromagnetic entertainment
Bob Berman’s “Galaxy vs. home lighting” in the September 2013
issue of Astronomy opened a window of discovery for me. After
researching, I built a spectroscope with my daughter and then
ordered a pocket spectroscope from a reliable vendor. I was so
excited that I was running around the house showing my wife and
daughter what all the light bulbs’ spectra looked like. Thanks,
Bob, I’ve learned so much in the past week and am anxious to
pass it on. — Tom Rusek, Aberdeen, MarylandExtra-credit observing
I thoroughly enjoyed “40 deep-sky targets in Sagittarius” in the
August 2013 issue. Skies aren’t too clear in Indiana; we have aver-
aged one good night per month this year. But on those nights, we
go to Goethe Link Observatory, set up in the backyard, and search
for those deep-sky objects. It’s great fun, and in August we had the
article, which gave us 40 more great things to search out. I know
Astronomy publishes regular articles suggesting objects to
observe, but a monthly deep-sky object challenge list would be
nice to see in the magazine. — Steve McSpadden, Mooresville, IndianaFROM OUR INBOX
The author poses with
his newest acquisition
— a 5.1-inch Takahashi
TOA-130 apochromatic
refractor. TONY HALLAS