Imaging technique
Astrophotography
Capturing images of celestial objects with a camera, from wide starfields on a fixed tripod to long, tracked exposures through a telescope. Astrophotography trades the eye's real-time view for the camera's ability to accumulate light over minutes or hours, revealing colour and faint structure the eye can never see. It spans planetary, deep-sky, and narrowband techniques.
Highlights
- ›Accumulating light a camera can gather but the eye cannot
Related techniques & equipment
Across the observing chain
Knowledge connections
- Associated withCamera
- Associated withStar Tracker
- Associated withCCD
- Associated withCMOS Sensor
- Associated withDeep-Sky Imaging
- Associated withPlanetary Imaging
- Associated withThe Imaging Workflow
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.