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Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails making photographs of astronomical objects in the sky such as the Moon, Sun, planets, stars, and deep sky objects such as star clusters and galaxies. more...
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Overview
Astrophotography ranges from simple images of bright objects to very complex exposures designed to reveal objects that are too faint to observe with the naked eye. With only a few exceptions, almost all astrophotography employs time exposures since both film and digital cameras can accumulate and sum light photons over long periods of time. This is just one of many distinct aspects of astrophotography that sets it apart from conventional photography.
Astrophotography poses challenges that are distinct from normal photography, because most subjects are usually quite faint, and are often small in angular size. Effective astrophotography requires the use of many of the following techniques:
Mounting the camera at the focal point of a large telescope;
Film emulsions with low light sensitivity or specialized CCD cameras;
Very long exposure times and/or multiple exposures (often more than 20 per image).;
Accurate tracking of the subject to compensate for the rotation of the Earth during the exposure;
Use of filters to reduce background fogging due to light pollution of the night sky.;
History
The first astrophoto is attributed to John William Draper, who took a photo of the moon in 1840. His son, Henry Draper, later became the first person to photograph the Orion Nebula in 1880, which was essentially the first deep sky astrophoto.
Today, astrophotography is a fast growing hobby that is popular among photographers, amateur astronomers, and hobbyists of all ages. Commercial astrophotography equipment is easy to find, and modern digital cameras are increasing in popularity due to lower cost and ease of use. However, skill and technique are extremely important, and the hobby can become a life-time passion or short-term frustration.
Amateur Astrophotography
Although the description above suggests that astrophotographs can be made only with expensive equipment by observatories or photographers with extensive experience; in fact, surprisingly good quality photographs of the night sky can be made by almost anyone using readily available single lens reflex 35 mm film cameras, digital cameras, inexpensive dedicated astro cameras to off-the-shelf webcam like the Philips ToUCam Pro.
It used to be that all astrophotographs had to be taken far away from the light-polluted skies of major cities or towns. This ensured that the sky is dark enough so that the photograph will not be completely washed out and ruined by bright urban light pollution. Simple wide-angle astrophotographs of constellations containing familiar star patterns (such as Ursa Major, Orion, Sagittarius and others) are still made in such a manner. However, with the advent of digital cameras, special light-pollution filters and advanced techniques of computer processing, photographers are now able to capture beautiful astrophotographs even from light-polluted, suburban skies. At the same time, bright targets like the moon and planets can be acquired in a highly-light-polluted environment.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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