Questions tagged [photography]

Questions about photography of celestial objects by amateur or professional astronomers. Questions about photography of other objects are off-topic but might be asked on our sister site Photography Stack Exchange.

303 questions
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How to identify stars in photographs?

I can look at a star chart and identify things like constellations in the sky. But if I take a picture with my DSLR camera (35mm with a decent zoom lens, no astronomy specific optics), I run into difficulty. I find that the camera can see a lot…
Michael
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11
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2 answers

Astrophotography - Unable to achieve focus with current setup

I am new to astrophotography and am looking for guidance. I have the following equipment: Orion StarBlast 9814 4.5" Altazimuth Reflector Tabletop telescope 1.25in Telescope Adapter Extension Tube T Ring for Canon DSLR SLR Camera DC618 17mm and 6mm…
Nick
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10
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1 answer

How far into intergalactic space would you have to go to see the Milky Way?

If in the distant future a ship were somehow able to move beyond the galaxy and into intergalactic space, how far would it have to go before we could look out a window and see the Milky Way in its entirety, rather than just edge-on as we see it from…
6
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2 answers

Why does this twilight sky flat field have a grid of dark pixels?

The image below is a small region of a twilight flat field. A grid of darker pixels with 728x36 cell dimensions can be seen. The camera used was the SBIG STL-6303 according to the FIT headers, which uses a Kodak KAF-6303E CCD according to the…
user181339
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6
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1 answer

What is the equation for the radius of a star trail?

I have been studying star paths, and have successfully used the following equations to map star paths in a multiple exposure photograph onto circles of a radius determined by the star's declination and my camera focal length and sensor size: I…
AtomPages
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5
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4 answers

Gallery of 'actual images' from space?

Where can a gallery of actual unaltered photographic images taken in (or of) space be found? Specifically ones that are untouched, not colorized (not necessarily black and white, but they usually are), and taken by natural light photography?…
Mazura
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5
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1 answer

Can a laser pointer ruin a long exposure photo?

I am a hobby astronomer and usually out with people that aren't familiar with the night sky. In order to help them find constellations or show them stuff in the sky, I was thinking of buying a laser pointer. Now because I do not want to ruin any…
MegAmaNeo1
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5
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2 answers

Are all the photos of the universe really so colorful or is it just visual effects that are added later?

Do the colorful pictures of the universe show how it looks like that in reality or is it just a visual effect that is added later.
4
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4 answers

How much telescope do I actually need for astrophotography?

I've done the 'sparkly curtains behind landscapes' form of astrophotography for years with DSLRs, lately full frame Nikon. I know what I'm doing with the camera, and want to take the next step into incompetence with telescopes to point at stars with…
eftpotrm
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4
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1 answer

Does the focus of terrestial telecopes need adjustment for the distance of astronomical objects?

My rudimentary experience of photography and telescopes suggests that with commonly affordable optics any object beyond the range of hundreds to thousands of feet will be in adequate focus at the proper "infinity" position. For example the advice…
4
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1 answer

Cooling of astrophotography camera sensor chip

For astrophotography using 'medium size' land telescope at good location, How many time longer exposure, in view of boosting the system's ability to photograph even darker objects, can one gets from cooling down digital camera sensor chip? Is there…
EEd
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4
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2 answers

What is the relationship between the focal length and f number of a telescope compared to a guide scope?

How do you determine the optimal length of a guide scope for a given imaging telescope? I imagine it would have to take into consideration the pixel size of the guide scope, but would the aperture matter as well?
asawyer
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3
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1 answer

What are these dark artifacts in this New Horizons image?

Are these photographic artifacts of some kind and if so how would they occur? They are almost the same exact shape and size. It is a photo of the Kuiper Belt from the New Horizon space probe taken directly from NASA web site. If it is not a common…
user111826
3
votes
1 answer

What components (parts) are needed to connect telescope to DSLR?

I have several years of experience with DSLR photography and some astro photography (milkyway) with DSLR. Recently, my wife gifted me an explore scientific ED80 APO telescope. I have an old Nikon D7000. I would like to get started with…
3
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2 answers

What is the easiest way to photograph stars during daylight hours?

This is probably going to be a bit of a weird one but here it goes. I was looking to see what the easiest method would be to photograph the heavens during the day time in such a way that the stars are visible. Are there particular wavelengths or…
mmiscool
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