Digital Telescope Photography

Even those who don’t make a habit out of amateur astronomy often admire the beauty of the night sky, whether it’s a glance at the stars or admiration of the moon. The beauty of the heavens is often displayed in news articles accompanied with photos of what astronomers are currently studying. Photography enthusiasts have been taking pictures of the night sky for over 100 years now, and with the advent of new technology, digital telescope photography is becoming a more common practice. With just a little knowledge and some simple equipment, it’s easy to take advantage of digital telescope photography to create your own beautiful pictures.

How Astrophotography Works

Whether it done with a traditional film camera or using a digital camera, taking pictures of the sky, or astrophotography, uses the same basic setup. Both traditional and digital telescope photography require the photographer to somehow mount the camera over the eyepiece, a technique called a focal projection. This simple technique can produce some stunning pictures, since essentially the photographer is using a really great telephoto lens! This same technique is sometimes used for birdwatchers to take quality photographs of birds from afar.

The Old Method

Before digital camera technology advanced enough to allow digital telescope photography to become possible, the sky had to be photographed the same way it did when the first photograph of the moon was taken in 1840, with long exposures. But because the Earth is in constant motion, this long exposure time would result in blurring or trails of light from the stars moving across the sky. While sometimes this is a desired effect, creating a photo that looks like the sky is filled with shooting stars, if such blurring is not wanted, a photographer would have to use a motor driven telescope mount, which helps to keep the telescope pointed at the sky.

Improvements with Digital Technology

The invention of the digital camera has made an impact on the field of astrophotography. Digital telescope photography holds some added benefits to that of photography with a traditional camera. Digital cameras can be made now that are more sensitive to light than a film camera, so long exposure times are no longer needed to capture the faint light of the stars, which means fewer problems with blurring. Because most digital cameras come with small screens to view results on, a photographer can review photos while still out taking more pictures, provided the object being photographed is bright enough. Digital cameras are also quite compact, which makes traveling outside with photography and astronomy equipment a lot easier. All these conveniences make digital telescope photography the best bet to take stunning pictures of the night sky, so if you’re motivated to take photos of the night sky, it might be time to pick a quality telescope and a quality digital camera. The results may impress you.