SpaceshipEarthProject

Astrophotography JacquelynRobles12.5.16

Introduction
Astrophotographyisawayoftakingphotographsofacelestialobjectsuchasgalaxiesandnebulasfarinto
space,beyondofwhatwearecapabletoosee.Thishelpsusexploreorseemoreofwhatsinspace.Thiswas
oneofthebestopportunitiesatleastformetoounderstandorlearnmoreaboutthesecelestialobjectsand
howtoousethealltheequipmentyoudneedtobeabletogetaclearimageofwhatyou'reaimingfor.Thisis
kindwaytoexploreandconnecttotheoutside.

OurgroupstartedbyresearchingabouttheequipmentsuchastheDSLRcamera,themountthe
telescopeandotherguidingequipment.Otherthanthatwealsohadtolearnhowtolocatethecelestialobjects
wechose,likeTheAndromedaGalaxyandTriangulumGalaxy,bylookingatwhatconstellationstheyareandin
whatdirectionandthetimeitwillbevisibleinthenightsky,beforewewenttoourouting.Oncewehada
basicknowledgeofhowtoosetuptheequipmentwewentonaoutingtoAnza-Borregodesertfarawayfrom
thecitywithoutlightpollutioninterfering.Firstthethetripod,mountandtelescopeweresetup.Themountis
importantbecausemostofthecelestialobjectsareverydim,thingslikenebulaeandgalaxiescantakelong
exposures.Andsincetheearthrotatestheskyisnotstill,theguiderhelpsyoutracktheobjects,asforthe
telescopeitneedstobewellbalanced.

Lighthastodowithastrophotographyforexample,lightenergyissomethingthatallowsustosee
andexplore.VisiblelightisasmallpartoftheElectromagneticspectrumwhichrangesinRadio-Gamma
wavelengths.Lightiswhatenergizesourvisualsystem(Light/wavesgoingthroughthepupilandhittingthe
retinawhichtheopticnervesendstothebrain),likehowit'scapturedwiththetelescopeandcamera.Light
reflectedfromobjectsintooureyesenablesustosee.Whichiswhenaparticularlightfallingonanobject
reflectsthecolorbackbecauseitdoesn'tabsorbwhiletheotherscolorsdo.Adifferentformoflight,for
exampleinfireiswhenasourceofenergysuchasheatisappliedtoanatom(duringcombustion),itcauses
theelectronstomovetoahigherenergystatewhichisunstable.Higherenergystatesmaketheelectrons
constantlymoveupandbackwhichcreatesitsownenergy/light.

Atelescopesareabletocollectandfocusmorelightfromdistantobjectsthanoureyescan
dependingthesizeofthelens.Thebiggerthelensthemorelightcancomethrough.Thisiscreatedby
refractingorreflectingthelightusinglensesormirrors.Itsallowsustoseefurthertodistantobjectwhich
magnifiesandmakesitappearcloser,andwhichiswhythecamera,thatismountedontothescope,isable
totakeadecentimageasitsreflectingthrough.Oncethescopewasintherightpositiontowardstheobject,
webegintakingminutelongexposure.Afterthatwetooklightandblackshotswhichisatthesame
exposuretimeasthelightsexceptfortheblackshotsyouhavethelidonthetelescope.Wethentookbias
shootswhichisashottakenatthefastestshutterspeedpossiblealsowiththecaponthetelescope.Once
thesetupwascompleteweusedthehandcontrollerwhichyoucanenterobjectnameslikejupiterandother
codeslikeM31,whichisTheAndromedaGalaxy,andthetelescopewillslewrighttoit.

IntodeepspacebeyondoursolarsystemiswhereimageslikethisoftheAndromedaGalaxywere
takenfroma60dDSLRcamerathatwasmountedontothetelescope.Whichisthemosttechnicalandhardest
formofastrophotography.ForourDSLRcamerasettingsweusedawideapertureofF2.8andanISOof3200
foraclearandbrighterimageforwhenwewerefilmingastartrail,ortakingphotosoftheMilkyWayand
drawingwithlight.Fromourastronomyoutingwetook39lightframesoftheAndromedaGalaxy,29light
framesoftheTriangulumGalaxy,20biasframesand23blackframes.Wethenuploadedallthephotosthat
weretakenthatnight,andusedphotoshoptoostackandalignthebestimagesweselected.Whichwewere
abletocreateabestimageoftheAndromedaandTriangulumGalaxy.

Lookingupatspaceandseeingmanyofthosestarsalwaysmademewonderwhatitalllookslikeup
close.Wonderingaboutwhattheirmadeofandhowmanygalaxiesandnebulasareouttherebeyondoursolar
system.Astrophotographyisaboutcapturingamazingobjects,thataremillionsoflightyearsaway,thatwe
cannotyetgettooandseeinperson,sothisenablesustooseeandhavesomekindofunderstanding.And
that'swhyIchosetobeapartoftheastrophotographyproject.

Nowthatweknowmoreaboutastrophotographyand
nowmoreabouttheprocessofsettingupthe
equipmentsthatarerequiredtogetaamazing
imagesoffarawayobjectsinspacealsoinspiredme
andgavemesomeunderstandingofhowitallgoes
down.Andjustthinkinghowgreatitisthatanyoneis
capableofdoingastrophotographyandcreatingan
artpieceoftheirown.Andforusbeingabletootell
othersofwhatwelearnedinourexperiences.