Malin, David

Astronomer, astrophotographer and science writer. Born in England on 28 March 1941, Dr David Frederick Malin trained and worked as a chemist. He has lived in Australia since 1975 when he moved to Sydney to take up a job with the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). In 1985 he was awarded the Jackson-Gwilt Medal and Prize of the Royal Astronomical Society. During his time at the AAO, Malin developed several techniques for making colour photographs of astronomical objects which reveal the true colours of objects in the distant universe. In 2000 Malin received the Lennart Nilsson Award for this aspect of his work. He is also the discover of two major classes of galaxies, one of which is known as Malin 1. Malin is the author of two patents, and over 100 scientific papers, articles and reviews. His books include, Colours of the stars (with Paul Murdin, 1984), A view of the universe (1993), and, The invisible universe (1999). Malin retired from the AAO in 2001 to concentrate on his own specialized photo-agency, David Malin Images.