Page 62 - BBC Sky at Night Beginners Guide to Astronomy - 2017 UK

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

YOU DON’T NEED AN OBSERVATORY-SIZED TELESCOPE TO GET
STARTED IN ASTRO IMAGING – YOU CAN TAKE STUNNING SPACE
PHOTOS WITH A BASIC CAMERA AND A FEW OTHER BITS OF KIT

So you’ve seen some stunning images of star astrophotography. For the absolute beginner,
clusters and been inspired by marvellous these bits of kit, which are attached to motor-
vistas of the Milky Way, and now you’re ready driven telescopes, are a little too advanced.
to try your hand at astrophotography yourself. You can start using these when you become a
As it happens you don’t need any expert more experienced astro imager.
experience or equipment – you can take some
fi ne astro images with a basic camera and a GETTING GOOD RESULTS
few other bits of kit. So, what do you need to Many books and articles confi ne astrophotography
get started? to when it’s dark, but evening skies showing a
There was a time when a 35mm fi lm camera crescent Moon, the planet Venus or noctilucent
was the only way to go. These days, the best clouds make attractive subjects. When you’re
camera to have is the digital variety. Of course,
the simplest point-and-shoot digital cameras
are somewhat limited in their ability, and it’s Steady your
camera with
useful if you can turn off any automatic settings.
a tripod
But the wonder of any digital camera is that
you can look at a photo straight after taking
it. You can see if it’s any good and make
adjustments as necessary. With a 35mm fi lm
camera, you wouldn’t have a clue what your
pictures looked like until you got them back
from being developed.
Capture a steady view through a You might hear talk of CCD cameras
scope with an eyepiece bracket or webcams in conversations about

GO FURTHER WITH A DSLRER WITH A DSLRA

Due to their vast array of functions and
ns and
changeable lenses, the most versatile
satile
cameras for astro imaging are DSLRs.
DSLRs.
For sky shots, wide-angle lenses
(20-35mm) are best because
they capture a larger chunk of
PETE LAWRENCE, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, NIKON, CANON fi ne job. You can also adjust a
the sky, but the lens that comes
with most of these cameras
(normally 50mm) will also do a
DSLR lens to capture as much
light from faint stars as possible
by changing its aperture.
This widens or narrows the
diameter of the lens to let more
or less light through. Apertures
are measured using f/numbers;
the wider the aperture, the
smaller the f/number.
Improve your astro images
by investing in a DSLR
by investing in a DSLR
62 skyatnightmagazine.com 2012 Improve your astro images