"The billowing red curtain is hydrogen, excited by energetic radiation from Sigma Orionis, the star at the top of the picture," explains David Malin, a scientist and photographer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Sydney. The Invisible Universe (Bulfinch Press), a new collection of Malin's celestial works, presents stars and nebulae as they would be seen if the human eye were a million times more sensitive. To do that, Malin pioneered a method of three-color astronomical photography based on traditional darkroom processes (and described in full at www.aao.gov.au/local/www/dfm/malin.html). Using the telescope as a camera, Malin takes three black-and-white exposures with a combination of plates and filters that record blue, green, and red light. He then manipulates and combines the plates photographically.
"I aim to portray the natural world as it is," says Malin, "in its natural though unseen colors."
ELECTRIC WORD
Shooting Stars
Hall of Sound
Need a Hand?
Through the Looking Glass
Techtile Design
Plug and Play
