Editing David Malin (section)

==Career==
Malin was born in 1941 and raised in [[Heywood, Greater Manchester]], in the north of England. He was trained as a chemist and originally worked as a [[microscopy|microscopist]]. In 1975 he moved to [[Sydney]] to take up a job with the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO), now the [[Australian Astronomical Observatory]].

Whilst working at the AAO, Malin developed several [[photography|photographic]] processing techniques to maximise the ability to extract faint and low contrast detail from the non-linear response and high densities of [[photographic plate]]s.

These techniques were initially devised to enhance the scientific return from photography, but Malin is now best known for the series of three-colour wide field images of deep space objects which have been widely published as posters and in books around the world. Most professional astronomical photographs are [[monochrome|monochromatic]]; if colour pictures are required, three images are needed. During his career at the AAO, Malin made about 150 three-colour images of [[deep sky object]]s, mostly using plates taken with the {{convert|4|m|in|adj=on}} [[Anglo-Australian Telescope]] and the {{convert|1.2|m|in|adj=on}} [[UK Schmidt Telescope]].

The true-colour images are assembled from three separate monochromatic photographs taken through [[red]], [[green]] and [[blue]] [[photographic filter|filter]]s. Each photographic plate is a special [[black and white]] [[photographic emulsion|emulsion]] designed for low light conditions and is further enhanced for low light sensitivity by baking in a [[nitrogen]] and [[hydrogen]] atmosphere. The [[exposure time]]s are relatively long, varying between 5–60 minutes for each colour, depending on the [[luminosity]] of the object. The colour image is re-assembled in the [[darkroom]], where further techniques such as [[unsharp masking]] to enhance fine detail might also be applied.

In 1986 he discovered [[Malin 1]], a giant [[spiral galaxy]] located {{convert|366|Mpc|e9ly|lk=on|order=flip}} away in the constellation [[Coma Berenices]], near the North Galactic Pole.<ref name=SciAm-1997-02>{{cite journal |title=The Ghostliest Galaxies |journal=[[Scientific American]] |first=G. D. |last=Bothun |volume=276 |issue=2 |pages=40–45 |date=February 1997 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0297-56 |bibcode=1997SciAm.276b..40B}}</ref> {{As of|2015|02}} it is the largest [[spiral galaxy]] so far discovered, with an approximate diameter of {{convert|650000|ly|pc}}.<ref name=Crosswell-2007-01-22>{{cite web |url=http://kencroswell.com/Malin1.html |title=Malin 1: A Bizarre Galaxy Gets Slightly Less So |work=KenCroswell.com |first=Ken |last=Crosswell |date=22 January 2007}}</ref><ref name="forbes20131222">{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2013/12/22/astronomers-still-puzzle-over-low-surface-brightness-galaxies/ |title=Astronomers Still Puzzle Over 'Low Surface Brightness' Galaxies |work=[[Forbes]] |first=Bruce |last=Dorminey |date=22 December 2013 |accessdate=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Guiness2011">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GJ-Lts1QgrkC&pg=PA3 |title=Guinness World Records 2011 |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York |editor-first=Craig |editor-last=Glenday |page=3 |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-440-42310-2}}</ref>

Since the early 1990s, silver-based [[astrophotography]] has been largely superseded by digital sensors, but many of the technical advances Malin introduced to the field have been carried over to processing astrophotography on computers.

Malin has published over 250 academic papers on the Astrophysics Data System (ADS)<ref>{{cite web|title=SAO/NASA ADS Abstract Service|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-basic_connect|website=adsabs.harvard.edu|publisher=[[Astrophysics Data System]] |accessdate=13 October 2016|location=Search for "Malin D.F."}}</ref> and ten books.<ref>{{cite web|title=Google Books search for author 'David Malin'|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=inauthor:"David+Malin"|accessdate=13 October 2016}}</ref>

In 2001 he retired from the AAO to concentrate on his own business, David Malin Images, which manages his image collection along with those of related photographers.