Amateur astronomers get raw [image data]

"NASA and the European Space Agency usually process images from space missions using sophisticated computer software before being releasing them to the public. Changing the contrast, brightness, and even colouring the pictures can help to pick out key features that would otherwise go unnoticed.

"But with the Huygens mission, the scientists involved released the raw images as soon as they came in. Computer enthusiasts [that sounds worse than saying "geeks"] pounced on the images immediately, and improved them using a range of free or commercially available software before swapping their pictures in Internet chatrooms.

"'When we started looking at the raw images, there were marvellous things there that we wanted to share,' says Anthony Liekens, a chatroom enthusiast from Borsbeek, Belgium.

"When Liekens tuned into the ESA press conference on the morning of 15 January, he was disappointed by the quality of their images. So he decided to host amateur compositions on his website. The site has quickly turned into a virtual gallery.

"Many amateurs have also taken images from the two Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and turned them into detailed topographic maps and panoramic landscapes. But this is the first time enthusiasts have beaten the space agencies to the punch, says Liekens, who admits he should really be finishing off his PhD in biomedical technology this week."