Imaging technique

Planetary Imaging

High-resolution imaging of the Moon and planets by recording thousands of short-exposure frames and keeping only the sharpest, to beat the blurring of atmospheric turbulence. This 'lucky imaging' approach, usually with a fast CMOS camera, lets modest telescopes resolve cloud belts on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and craters on the Moon.

Highlights

›Thousands of quick frames, keeping only the sharpest

Lucky Imaging
Speckle Imaging
Adaptive Optics
CMOS Sensor
Image Stacking

Across the observing chain

Astrophotography

Knowledge connections

Associated withAstrophotography
Associated withLucky Imaging
Associated withSpeckle Imaging
Associated withAdaptive Optics
Associated withCMOS Sensor
Associated withImage Stacking

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.