Astrophotography

Astrophotography

Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the <a href="/en/Photography" title="Photography" class="wl">photography</a> or <a href="/en/Imaging" title="Imaging" class="wl">imaging</a> of <a href="/en/Astronomical_object" title="Astronomical object" class="wl">astronomical objects</a>, celestial events, or areas of the <a href="/en/Night_sky" title="Night sky" class="wl">night sky</a>. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the <a href="/en/Moon" title="Moon" class="wl">Moon</a>) was taken in 1840, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for detailed stellar photography. Besides being able to record the details of extended objects such as the <a href="/en/Moon" title="Moon" class="wl">Moon</a>, <a href="/en/Sun" title="Sun" class="wl">Sun</a>, and <a href="/en/Planet" title="Planet" class="wl">planets</a>, modern astrophotography has the ability to image objects outside of the visible spectrum of the human eye such as dim <a href="/en/Star" title="Star" class="wl">stars</a>, <a href="/en/Nebula" title="Nebula" class="wl">nebulae</a>, and <a href="/en/Galaxy" title="Galaxy" class="wl">galaxies</a>. This is accomplished through <a href="/en/Long-exposure_photography" title="Long-exposure photography" class="wl">long time exposure</a> as both film and digital cameras can accumulate and sum <a href="/en/Photon" title="Photon" class="wl">photons</a> over long periods of time or using specialized optical filters which limit the photons to a certain wavelength.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Imaging of astronomical objects</div>


<figure class="wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Orion_Belt.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Orion_Belt.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Orion_Belt.jpg/250px-Orion_Belt.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1192" data-file-type="bitmap" height="199" width="250" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Orion_Belt.jpg/375px-Orion_Belt.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Orion_Belt.jpg/500px-Orion_Belt.jpg 2x" alt="Orion_Belt.jpg"></a><figcaption>An image of <a href="/en/Orion's_Belt" title="Orion's Belt" class="wl">Orion's Belt</a> composited from digitized black-and-white photographic plates recorded through red and blue astronomical filters, with a computer synthesized green channel. The plates were taken using the <a href="/en/Samuel_Oschin_Telescope" title="Samuel Oschin Telescope" class="mw-redirect wl">Samuel Oschin Telescope</a> between 1987 and 1991.</figcaption></figure>

Photography using extended exposure-times revolutionized the field of professional astronomical research, recording hundreds of thousands of new stars, and nebulae invisible to the human eye. Specialized and ever-larger <a href="/en/Optical_telescopes" title="Optical telescopes" class="mw-redirect wl">optical telescopes</a> were constructed as essentially big cameras to record images on <a href="/en/Photographic_plate" title="Photographic plate" class="wl">photographic plates</a>. Astrophotography had an early role in sky surveys and star classification but over time it has given way to more sophisticated equipment and techniques designed for specific fields of scientific research, with <a href="/en/Image_sensor" title="Image sensor" class="wl">image sensors</a> becoming just one of many forms of <a href="/en/Sensor" title="Sensor" class="wl">sensor</a>.[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" class="wl">citation needed</a>]

Today, astrophotography is mostly a subdiscipline in <a href="/en/Amateur_astronomy" title="Amateur astronomy" class="wl">amateur astronomy</a>, usually seeking aesthetically pleasing images rather than scientific data. Amateurs use a wide range of special equipment and techniques.

Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object was taken in 1840, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for detailed stellar photography. Besides being able to record the details of extended objects such as the Moon, Sun, and planets, modern astrophotography has the ability to image objects outside of the visible spectrum of the human eye such as dim stars, nebulae, and galaxies. This is accomplished through long time exposure as both film and digital cameras can accumulate and sum photons over long periods of time or using specialized optical filters which limit the photons to a certain wavelength. Photography using extended exposure-times revolutionized the field of professional astronomical research, recording hundreds of thousands of new stars, and nebulae invisible to the human eye. Specialized and ever-larger optical telescopes were constructed as essentially big cameras to record images on photographic plates. Astrophotography had an early role in sky surveys and star classification but over time it has given way to more sophisticated equipment and techniques designed for specific fields of scientific research, with image sensors becoming just one of many forms of sensor. Today, astrophotography is mostly a subdiscipline in amateur astronomy, usually seeking aesthetically pleasing images rather than scientific data. Amateurs use a wide range of special equipment and techniques. 