12 Astrophotography Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
BBC Sky at Night Magazine|August 2022
Expert astrophotographer Will Gater runs through the common mistakes even experienced photographers make and how to ensure your next imaging session is free of them
By Will Gater
12 Astrophotography Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

Starting out in astrophotography is an exciting, but often bewildering, experience. When you think about it, it's probably one of the strangest types of photography out there. You're going out, in the dark, at night - sometimes in remote spots - trying to capture a picture of something that's not only really distant but extraordinarily faint by any normal photographic standard.

Oh and, by the way, not only will the entire sky be moving while you're doing this, but the atmosphere you're shooting through will be wobbling too. And that's before you've even considered the prospect of actually processing the data you've captured.

It's no wonder there are so many slip-ups that it's easy to make. In this piece I'm going to look at 12 common imaging mistakes and how you can avoid making them. I've made every single one of them myself at one point or another, and I'm sure in time you'll find new and interesting ones of your own too - the astrophotography learning process is one that never ends!

1. Not getting the focus right and capturing soft data

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2022-Ausgabe von BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2022-Ausgabe von BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS BBC SKY AT NIGHT MAGAZINEAlle anzeigen
Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint

Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe

Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
August 2024
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars

The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST

Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
How to stack DSLR data in Siril
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to stack DSLR data in Siril

Easily combine multiple frames to boost detailin your astro photos

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
Lunar occultation of Saturn
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Lunar occultation of Saturn

You'll need to strike a balance on 21 August to capture the Moon covering the ringed planet

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
How to plot a variable star light curve
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to plot a variable star light curve

A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
Smartphone photography with a telescope
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Smartphone photography with a telescope

Mary Mcintyre explains how to get impressive night-sky images using your phone

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
Once-a-century solar storm is overdue
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Once-a-century solar storm is overdue

If a Carrington Event struck today it would be catastrophic, says Minna Palmroth

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 2024
The new era of human spaceflight
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

The new era of human spaceflight

There's been a step-change in crewed space missions since the dawn of the 21st century. Ben Evans charts its course and looks ahead to future horizons

time-read
9 Minuten  |
August 2024