To Photographing the Planets, Stars, Nebulae, & Galaxies
Astrophotography Primer Your FREE Guide to photographing the planets, stars, nebulae, & galaxies. eeBook.inddBook.indd 1 33/30/11/30/11 33:01:01 PPMM Astrophotography Primer Akira Fujii Everyone loves to look at pictures of the universe beyond our planet — Astronomy Picture of the Day (apod.nasa.gov) is one of the most popular websites ever. And many people have probably wondered what it would take to capture photos like that with their own cameras. The good news is that astrophotography can be incredibly easy and inexpensive. Even point-and- shoot cameras and cell phones can capture breathtaking skyscapes, as long as you pick appropriate subjects. On the other hand, astrophotography can also be incredibly demanding. Close-ups of tiny, faint nebulae, and galaxies require expensive equipment and lots of time, patience, and skill. Between those extremes, there’s a huge amount that you can do with a digital SLR or a simple webcam. The key to astrophotography is to have realistic expectations, and to pick subjects that are appropriate to your equipment — and vice versa. To help you do that, we’ve collected four articles from the 2010 issue of SkyWatch, Sky & Telescope’s annual magazine. Every issue of SkyWatch includes a how-to guide to astrophotography and visual observing as well as a summary of the year’s best astronomical events. You can order the latest issue at SkyandTelescope.com/skywatch. In the last analysis, astrophotography is an art form. It requires the same skills as regular photography: visualization, planning, framing, experimentation, and a bit of luck.
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