Photos of M42, the Horsehead Nebula, Rho Ophiuchi, the Pleides, and the Rosette Nebula illustrated the photographic techniques and astronomical principles David talked about. In his career as an astrophotographer, David Malin has created some of the most exquisite astrophotography in the universe. Photography records the forms and colors of nature as they are. Like Ansel Adams in his great photographs of Yosemite Park, Malin tries to capture the natural wonders of the sky as they exist. Many human beliefs are formed as a method of explaining the nature of the world around us.
Scientific investigation can then refine and replace our original theories.
The images he chooses for illustration or exhibition are chosen both for their artistic merit as well as their scientific value. CCD images are a great way to study astronomical objects, but for high-resolution, wide field images that will knock your socks off, photography is essential. It is difficult for us to understand how people observed the deep sky before photography. John Herschel, in the period 1840-70, was a greater observer than his father, Sir William Herschel. He was the first serious observer of the southern skies, from Sough Africa, before 1839.