Got into a heated chat about editing deep space images from my backyard in Phoenix

Last week I spent three hours stacking shots of the Orion Nebula from my Bortle 5 sky. I boosted the saturation to make the colors pop, like I saw on a forum. My friend who works at Lowell Observatory said that's 'making space art, not science' and ruins the real data. But I think if it gets people excited about the stars, what's the harm? Where do you draw the line between pretty pictures and honest astronomy photos?

3 comments

3 Comments

sam_anderson2mo ago

Your friend is right, it ruins the data.

webb.jordan2mo ago

Man, isn't it the worst when that happens? It feels like all that work just goes down the drain in a second. I've been there before and it's just so frustrating. What are you even supposed to do after that, start all over?

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eric_murphy361mo ago

Your friend at Lowell has a point about data, but most people just want to see something cool. It's like @webb.jordan said about work going down the drain, but here the work still makes a nice picture. The line gets fuzzy everywhere, not just with space photos. Look at how people edit their vacation shots or even food pictures. Everyone tweaks reality a bit to share a better story. If a bright nebula gets someone to look up, that seems like a win.

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