What is Astrophotography?
Astrophotography is a specialization within photography that focuses on taking pictures of the sun, moon, stars, planets and other celestial bodies.
With astrophotography, it is possible to make objects visible that are (too) dim to observe with the naked eye. This is possible because both conventional and digital cameras are capable of collecting sufficient particles of light, often called “photons,” over an extended period of time.
Astrophotography is a contraction of of the words astronomy and photography. Many astrophotographers also have a strong interest in astronomy.
This field is both a scientific tool and a form of artistic expression, capturing the beauty and vastness of space.
Understanding both photography principles and basic astronomy is crucial. This includes knowing how to focus on stars, understanding celestial events, and navigating the sky.
What Types of Astrophotography are there?
Deep Space/ Deep Sky Astrophotography
Pictures taken with a telescope or a large zoom or macro lens of objects far from Earth in the sky at night, usually requiring long exposures and tracking (see image at the top, an 8” Newtonian telescope on a tracking mount). They are often beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters.
Individual stars for ex. Vega (see image below, Astrophoto of the star Vega), Arcturus, Sirius, etc., are not deep sky objects.
In addition to telescopes and large zoom or macro lenses, light pollution, photo processing and other photographic equipment must be considered.
These links refer to an example of a nebula, a galaxy, an open cluster and a globular cluster:
- Link to my portfolio post-M42 The Orion Nebula
=> https://beatriceheinze.com/portfolio/m42-the-orion-nebula-2/ - Link to my portfolio post-M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy
=> https://beatriceheinze.com/portfolio/m51-whirlpool-galaxy/ - Link to my portfolio post-M34 Open Cluster
=> https://beatriceheinze.com/portfolio/m34-open-cluster-in-perseus/ - Link to my portfolio post-M13 The Hercules Globular Cluster
=> https://beatriceheinze.com/portfolio/m13-the-hercules-globular-cluster-2/
Here is an astrophoto of the individual star Vega (earlier Wega)
Solar System Astrophotography
Photographing everything within our solar system, including the moon, the sun and the planets circling it. You can use a telescope for this type of photography, but a very large zoom lens on the camera can also produce nice results.
Please see the image at the top, Astrophotography setup by Beatrice Heinze => here I was preparing to photograph the Moon. You can see a planetary camera attached to an 8” Newtonian telescope. This camera is suited for imaging planets, the Sun and the Moon.
Focusing on only planets within our solar system and often requiring a high magnification is called Planetary Astrophotography.
Here are examples of astrophotos: images 1 &2, are taken with a Canon EOS 750D DSLR and a standard kit zoom lens 55-250mm from Canon. Images 3 & 4, are taken with a Canon EOS 750D DSLR attached to an 8“ Newtonian telescope, the Sky-Watcher Explorer Black Diamond N200/1000.
For image 4, I also used the Baader Planetarium ASTF200 White light solar filter to image safely the sun*. In post-processing, I put a yellow filter on the image to give it a more familiar look.
*WARNING: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN WITH YOUR TELESCOPE OR BINOCULARS WITHOUT APPROPRIATE FILTERS IN PLACE. PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYES AND YOUR EQUIPMENT WILL OCCUR!!!
Filters for binoculars and telescopes specifically designed and approved for solar observation/ solar imaging are available at astronomy stores.
Wide-Angle Astrophotography/ Widefield Astrophotography
The simplest type of astrophotography, taking pictures of a nighttime landscape with the starry sky in the background, possibly including the Milky Way. This kind of astrophotography is done using a wide-angle lens and it’s one of the most popular types of astrophotography.
See the video below, Time-Lapse Astrophotography. The video from Matthew Landon shows beautiful astro time-lapses and still images of wide-angle astrophotography.
Time-Lapse Astrophotography
An extension of wide-angle astrophotography. During a time-lapse, multiple photographs are taken over some time and then combined into a video or photograph (for ex. star trails).
The video below from Matthew Landon is a great example of an astro time-lapse.
This is the beginning of a new series: Wisdom Wednesday.
Each Wednesday, I will highlight a concept in astrophotography.
I will keep it as short as possible and clarify it well with images and/or videos.
