Hobbyist Shoots Earth From Edge of Space With Used Camera From eBay

[Gary]

Found this from coasttocoastam.com and thought it was really cool!!! 

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/balloon-camera-duct-tape-shoot-earth-pictures-space/story?id=10210658

[PPI Karl]

That's a pretty neat trick.  Thanks for posting this, Gary.

One thing I was unclear about in the article:  what is the scientific value of his images?  As amateur space photos, they are very cool.  The article makes it sound as though he does what NASA does for, quite literally, a tiny fraction of the cost and no risk of life--all of which is true, but the goal of sending up a shuttle to risk a crew of highly skilled individuals isn't to take pictures of the curve of the Earth.  (I have a feeling Robert Harrison would agree with that.)  I just wondered if I missed some valuable information about who he is and why he does this other than a passion for the challenge of it all.  Maybe he's connected to a university?  Or a British govt. atmospheric survey project?  I'm sounding snarkier than I mean to; I'm really just curious. 

Thanks, again, Gary!