Astrophotography: Facts and Fun

Astrophotography is one of the most interesting things in the world right now. Basically you take a picture with a digital camera and it reveals colors within that image. Now, the image can be a star, a planet or the moon. With Astrophotography you don't need a telescope, but a digital camera, even if it's modest in it's features will do. If you're an advanced astronomy advocate then an astronomical camera is more in line with your need. Orion Star Shoot and Deep Space Images equipment make it much easier for you to take digital images of the cosmos.

For those of you who can't afford a digital camera, astrophotography can be created using conventional tools. Although, they've become less popular because of the digital camera shift. Some of the conventional tools used are a single lense reflex camera that you connect to a telescope. You want to beware of a few things. Exposure for long periods of time will lead to something called noise on your digital camera. I've used my Kodak digital camera to take astro images of Venus and the North Star. When I uploaded the image on my computer the colors surrounding the star ranged from green to red, to even some blue mixed in there.

For astronomers and astronauts, ironically one of the more difficult planets to photograph is earth because it rotates and if you're not able to adjust to the earth's rotation it will damage your image. Okay so now we're going to get into some of the gear you can use for your astrophotography experience.

Telescopes:
The Orion Premium retractor telescope is one of the most advanced telescopes for non professional astronomers. With it's 714mm focal length, you can capture images in a much clearer scope than less expensive models. This telescope will run you about 700 or so dollars but if you're interested in astronomy and astrophotography than it's worth the price. Also, there are other models of the Orion that are less expensive. Another model is the Celestron CGE. This big boy is on the more powerful models out there and it will hit your wallet for about 9,000 dollars. I recommend the more advanced professionals and non professionals use this model.

Tubes and cameras are essential to a great astrophotography experience. You don't have to be an expert or a professional. You just simply have to have a love for the stars, and a love for science.