Today we published our 100th image, The Horsehead Nebula. With my partner in this enterprise, Bob Fera, we launched this site in September of 2024, after installing two CDK 17” scopes, one at SRO in California and one at Obstech in Chile. Since that time we also teamed up with Steeve Body and installed an FSQ in Australia.
In 2024, I returned to astronomy after a 17 year absence. During that time I was busy with science. I did conservation photography, mostly wildlife around the globe, I built a robotic boat that is used by whale disentanglement teams in Monterey Bay - allowing them to see live images and access the degree of entanglement in nets both below and above water, I helped to monitor plankton levels in Monterey Bay, and I was given lab space at the California Academy of Sciences to photograph and help identify fossil microscopic organisms, diatoms, in their extensive collection. But, I missed astronomy.
I reconnected with a number of old friends, including Bob, and I have made many new friends here on AstroBin. I have to say, there is no community as supportive, friendly, and encouraging as the amateur astronomy community. And, Salvatore has made AstroBin a really wonderful place to connect with great people and learn new things.
I am so grateful it exists. I have met so many really great folks here. These are folks I hope to remain friends with for a long time! In all the other areas of science I explored I never came across such a welcoming community of people. I feel so fortunate. So, many thanks to all of the great people here, you may not realize it but you are a very special group.
Steve Mandel
