On April 9, 2012 the N.C. State University Department of Physics invited an amateur astroimager named Burley Packwood, M.D. to present “Astroimaging: What Technologies Enable Both Professionals and Amateurs to Obtain Such Spectacular Astronomical Images?” Burley is a retired Radiologist who recently relocated to the mecca of optical observatories, Tuscon, Arizona. Burley has a dome in his backyard, a 7′ AstroHaven clamshell dome that protects an AP1200 mount and a 5″ Takahashi refractor, SBIG ST2000XM and Adaptive Optical device from SBIG as well. He has been imaging since the year 2000.
Burley Packwood began his talk with the history of astronomical imaging in 1840, manually guided images from the late 1800’s coinciding closely with the appearance of film, how big observatories used film for imaging on ‘plates’, the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey 1948-1958, invention of the CCD by Bell Labs (AT&T) and it’s first use in 1970 for photometry. By the early 80’s observatories were using CCDs to produce full-color images including re-shooting the Palomar Sky Survey original plates but this time with a CCD of the 14″ square plates and subsequently digitized. It wasn’t until the late eighties and nineties that imaging began to definitively replace film though. By the early 2000’s amateurs began using CCDs and were rivaling some professional observatories in both quality and scientific value. He then showed pictures of the largest optical observatories, their optical trains and example imaging trains.
Next topic was comparing amateur low end (Damien Peache’s TouCam and Celestron C-11) up to high end installations (picture of $250,000 robotic observatory atop a mountain). He showed a picture of his rig and labeled it as ‘moderate’. He then displayed a picture of the Rosette Nebula core taken by the original Palomar Sky Survey, the re-shoot of the plates in the mid 80’s and his own taken with the 5″ Takahashi – you couldn’t tell the difference!  Point taken Burley! He then briefly highlighted processing steps employed by both the professionals and amateurs citing the main difference being altitude and aperture! He then outlined adaptive optics, how it worked at professional observatories like LBT and Keck, the lower-cost-lower-technology used by amateurs and how this has become a game-changer for ground-based optical observatories vs. The Hubble. Currently, Keck is 85% of a perfect Strehl Ratio of 100% (diffraction limited seeing conditions the Hubble enjoys). Amateurs are around 20%, for comparison which makes amateur images even more amazing!
Burley concluded with displaying some of his images, how long it took to collect and process the data and how light pollution, seeing, altitude, weather patterns, etc. stack against amateurs. He said anything you can do to improve your weather chances is well worth it but in Seattle, regardless of the Jet Stream or clouds, if it was even semi clear – you pulled an all nighter! In Arizona he remarked, you have the luxury of excellent weather, steady skies and a local community of like-minded enthusiasts! That’s why he moved to Tuscon area!
I had a chance to sit down and discuss how Burley got into the hobby, his progression, mentor help along the way as well as his future plans in the hobby. Â Basically, he started like most of us, figured it would be fun and easy on his own but eventually learned that getting help is both a valued time/money saver and fun as well. On the processing side he took Adam Block’s imaging courses and also helped Adam with some subsequent courses there at Mt. Lemmon. He had made friends with imagers in the Arizona area and often tours the Stewart Mirror Lab. The Stewart Mirror Lab is unique and usually has mirrors in continual production which takes months or longer. He showed a picture of one of the mirrors being made for one of the forthcoming Mega Observatories coming in about ten years years time.
Burley and his wife were taken to dinner by Dean Lee, Associate Professor, N.C. State Physics Department. Â For the next week Burley and his wife will be exploring Beaufort, Ocracoke, Cape Hatteras and the Wright Brother’s Memorial before he returns to Arizona where a loaned SBIG STL11000 awaits him. His wife will be staying for another week attending a quilting workshop to keep herself busy while Burley dedicates more time to his hobby! I told her now they both can enjoy their hobbies – she can make him warm ‘booties’, blankets and gloves and maybe he can help give her feedback to make some clothing items for our hobby!
— Robert Fitzgerald 9-Apr-2012
