Image Processing
BBC Sky at Night Magazine|November 2017

Binning image data, and why you should do it.How losing some resolution in your images can help you capture more detail.

Sara Wager
Image Processing

Binning is the process of combining the pixels of a camera sensor together to make ‘super pixels’, with the effect of increasing the camera’s sensitivity at the cost of image resolution. By increasing sensor sensitivity, you acquire deeper data in a shorter time than you would without binning. And, as we’ll find out, matching image resolution to sky conditions can be a benefit in itself. Binning sounds complex,but is quite straightforward.Imagine your camera sensor as a grid of individual pixels; when you take a photograph, the camera reads every pixel in the grid separately, generating an image with a 1:1 signal to noise ratio – this is technically 1x1 binning.With 2x2 binning, the camera will read each block of four pixels as one, resulting in a higher ratio of signal to noise and a lower resolution.

Bu hikaye BBC Sky at Night Magazine dergisinin November 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye BBC Sky at Night Magazine dergisinin November 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

BBC SKY AT NIGHT MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
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 dak  |
August 2024