Why astrophotography?

[NotSoSuperNova]

Now, far be it for me to come on here and start a controversial subject but why on earth would someone new to astronomy start with AP in mind? I should mention at this point that I'm far from against the concept, just that it looks really, really hard. At the moment I'm trying to familiarise myself with the night sky, an ambitious enough prospect to my mind. I have observation as a primary focus and had imagined that the majority would be in a similar boat. Maybe it's just that because it's more complex that more questions get asked about it?

I did read somewhere (and I'm likely to be mistaken) that unproductive astro-photography is one of the number one reasons for people dropping the hobby?

I know that there are many branches of interest once you start looking around but do many people stick with just looking?

Ryan

[Pete Presland]

dissapointing views at the eyepiece, you will see more detail when doing astro-photography than you will ever see with your eye is the main reason. planetary imaging is reasonably easy with practice, DSO'S slightly trickier.

[Steep]

Coming from a lifelong amateur photography background with a long term interest in astronomy it's a natural progression for me. I'm not going to spend twenty grand on a setup so don't expect spectacular quality images (never got that in any other kind of photography I've done) but if I can get close to some of the images I've seen here I'll be happy. The challenge of making it work is also part of it for me.

[long_arms]

Hello,

I spent a year not on this forum with just some binoculars, an app on my phone and as many nights as possible learning the nights sky.

I then got my first telescope and have certainly been drawn to the astrophotography bug since but only planetary.

I never got the telescope with imaging in mind, only visual when I think about it. I had no photography background only an interest in astronomy.

My point is that the reason I haven't imaged dso's yet is because the best nights I have had are observing! Printing off charts of some objects I want to see and spending the night, seeing as much as possible. They're never going to look like pictures but you're not staring at a load of pixels on a screen, you're seeing the real deal!

I only own one telescope and won't have the money for a decent dob, but once I get the dso imaging bug I fear I will spend every clear night staring at a laptop instead

I genuinely think the observing is what has kept my passion up with weather etc. I completely understand new people that only want to do astrophotography but I think It can bring a lot of frustration along with it.

Dan

[ScottT]

Im a newbie within the last few weeks , but already I am thinking that I would like eventually to get what I have seen through my telescope onto pictures.

so although I do hope to take some pics in the future , I will keep it simple to start off with.

I know what im like , its too tempting to blow a load of money into a new hobby and then move onto something else!, lets see where I am in a years time.

I would imagine that many newcomers see the quality of pictures available out there and want to be able to re-create them, even if they are taken from the Hubble!

[Guy Wells]

AP is cool. Simple as that.

[swag72]

I bought my kit for AP and have looked through an eye piece less than a dozen times. I use goto as I've not got a clue where stuff is or how to find it, neither do I have such an interest. I do like however trying to take a pretty pictures

[ollypenrice]

Fair point from the OP and many newcomers asking for a scope that will do everything are advised, rightly, that it doesn't exist and that getting started in AP is maybe something to do later.

Once you are involved in astronomy more generally, though, imaging becomes a logical progression for many reasons, one being that the views at the eyepiece are limited. Also sharing your pictures tends to be more sociable than visual observing, though not in clubs and so on. And then there are the skills to master and the satisfaction of a job well done (when you can make it all come right!) I guess we are an instinctively creative and artistic species.

I spend most of my professional time on AP but I wouldn't want to lose time at the eyepiece and I suspect I'll end my days just doing visual astronomy and reading about it.

Olly

[E621Keith]

I think a lot of people think they can just take photo of astronomical objects just like they do on terrestrial objects without knowing it's completely different. Just look at how many threads where people asked how to attach their iphone to their telescope and get amazing pictures of galaxy and nebula.

To put it bluntly, many beginners do not know enough to have realistic expectations. But who can blame them. They have been flooded by amazing pictures in books, magazines and internet taken by professionals and advanced amateurs. They couldn't see the amount of work the astronomer spent in making those pictures and just assume it's simple point and shoot.

PS. I believe the number one reason why people drop out of the hobby is poor department stores toys that imitates telescope.

btw I'm not saying AP is bad, in fact it's great that it allows people to 'see' objects that's too faint for naked eyes and also attracts attention of the general public. However, I think people should good knowledge of the night sky and visual observation before they starts AP.

[Astro Imp]

A case of do what gives you pleasure, it's a hobby not a chore.

[Naemeth]

Why practice Astrophotography in isolation? As far as I'm concerned, I'll end up having data being captured, and be next to the set-up with a big dob finding the faintest DSOs

[CSM]

When I first started back in astronomy the last thing I had in mind was taking pretty pictures, which is all the Astrophotography seemed to me to be. But I have definitely changed my mind

However, I also quite definitely think that spending a couple of years learning the ropes visually was well worth it.

[Macavity]

Not necessarily an either-or (not) - You could try VIDEO astronomy!

Initially to display faint (or indeed any) object on screen, in real-time.

Incidentally to learn many of the techniques of Astro-Photography...

[kirkster501]

I thought I would never be interested in AP and would be a visual guy forever. I mean, with Hubble etc how could my meager efforts compare with that? But that's the wrong way of thinking... If you play football on Sunday its not because you think one day you'll be as good as Ronaldo. Or if you like cycling, you don't do so thinking your going to be the next Bradley Wiggins. Its the fun and satisfaction of doing it and it becomes an obsession!

obsession!

[johnrt]

I got in to this caper with the intention of imaging DSO's and nothing else. I have never looked through any of the telescopes I have owned - I'm just not interested!

[ronl]

I have been observing the night sky for a while, with my bins, my personal objective is to find targets then star hop, others prefer go-to

mounts, each a personal choice, as is A P, astronomy is all about personal choice, as long as you enjoy what you doing, do it and enjoy!

Clear Sky's to all.

[Davey-T]

Capture enough data on the few clear nights and you can spend (waste Mrs T says ) hours playing around processing it whan it's cloudy

Dave

[NotSoSuperNova]

I may have underestimated individual convictions when originally posting I think everyone here has been pretty concise and valid in their point though. I'm not for a moment saying 'you should enjoy astronomy like this', each to their own. I do however, think it's a real shame that some of the guys don't have any interest in physically looking through a telescope. I would have imagined that it would tie into the whole philosophy of astronomy. As has been mentioned, it's a hobby and people should do what they enjoy. I'll be the first one to admire a stunning photo when it pops up.

Ryan

[Robny]

Having a photography background and a technical photography background at that it was my whole intention to image DSO's. I am new to this but am very aware of the challenges and financial investment required and that is what I based my first bit of kit on and I'm still building. That's not to say I'm not interested in looking through the scope because I decided my route was imaginary, in fact I'm often amazed and stunned by what I see through the scope.

Each to his own I see, so long your happy and enjoying it why not. I'm all for using technology, laptop's, goto's, camera's - love it and adds to the challenge and fun. Again, not say I'm not learning (trying) the night sky, I will often go out with my 10x60 bins and see what I can identify old school.

All roads lead to Rome - or something like that

Clear skies to AP's and observers

[JamesM]

Whether or not imaging provides your main astronomical focus (...sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) we are certainly all beneficiaries of many of the great images that can be produced on relatively modest kit. I never cease to be amazed at what can be captured which helps inform me of what I am looking at through the eyepiece. In addition, imaging with its tradition of innovation has certainly provided our astronomy retailers with another revenue stream, which again clearly benefits all of us by helping to spread the interest of astronomy and thereby making it possible to offer good quality scopes that in real terms cost a fraction of what similar kit used to cost not so long ago.

Thankfully astronomy is one of those subjects that is made up of a broad church of specialist interests that can appeal to all walks of life and which is also not gender or age specific. If imaging or observing can motivate you to go outside and away from a reliance on television, then it has to be a good thing.

James

[AndyWB]

OK, I'm a newbie, but I could be interested in AP purely as a log of 'what I saw'. The ability to gather a little light over time would be nice - but really, it's more to keep a record of 'this is what I saw, even if it is a bit hazy/polluted/out of focus, etc.'. To that end I'm curious about afocal photography, whether that might be enough for some 'snaps'.

(In other words, I'm rubbish at drawing in daylight, never mind in the dark!)

[sgazer]

Now, far be it for me to come on here and start a controversial subject but why on earth would someone new to astronomy start with AP in mind? I should mention at this point that I'm far from against the concept, just that it looks really, really hard. At the moment I'm trying to familiarise myself with the night sky, an ambitious enough prospect to my mind. I have observation as a primary focus and had imagined that the majority would be in a similar boat. Maybe it's just that because it's more complex that more questions get asked about it?

I did read somewhere (and I'm likely to be mistaken) that unproductive astro-photography is one of the number one reasons for people dropping the hobby?

I know that there are many branches of interest once you start looking around but do many people stick with just looking?

Ryan

Because people are interested in different things! The question might as well be; why on earth would anyone be interested in Astronomy?!! Or you could ask; why on earth would anyone want to learn the sky when computers know it already! It's all down to the individual and what they want to do.

In my particular example, I'm an electronics engineer with a keen interest in technology. I looked through a 10" dob a few times, saw some white dots, a few more white dots, spent hours tracking down DSOs and saw some faint whisps of 'smoke' in the corner of my eye, the I took a picture and glorious nebulous colour was revealed in seconds, then I got a GOTO and found these DSOs in minutes. A large proportion of the excitement and intreague for me is setting up the technologies, trying different techniques and different technical challenges, often things very few people have tried, so there's no-one really to ask (that's part of my day job too).

Does setting up a technically challenging rig require less thought, consideration and intelligence than memorising the names and positions of stars? I don't think so.

I'm sure lots of people drop out of Astronomy because they don't see what they are expecting to through a scope too. Nothing like the colour photos that people take.

Is imaging with a compact camera on an EQ mounted SLT going to get me the best pictures? No, but not many people have tried it and it's a technical challenge to get it working and some decent pictures. That's what I like, but everyone is different as I say.

[earth titan]

dissapointing views at the eyepiece, you will see more detail when doing astro-photography than you will ever see with your eye is the main reason. planetary imaging is reasonably easy with practice, DSO'S slightly trickier.

Here, here!

To watch a faint fuzzy galaxy arrive on your screen which you couldn't see through the scope, is a buzz. Also, SWMBO won't come out in the cold so it's just another way of boring her with astro stuff

Typed by me on my fone, using fumms... Excuse eny speling errurs.

[Stu]

Maybe I'll answer for the visual observers out here....

...we do exist but I guess it is a bit harder to show what we've been up to :-)

I've been a purely visual observer for around 13 years. I tend to treat my hobby as a slow learning experience which fits around everything else at the moment rather than a race to see everything. As family life calms down a bit I will spend more time observing and working my way through more objects.

For me, the joy of astronomy has always been about the direct connection between my eye and the object I am observing, to know that I am seeing it myself. I also want to keep technology out of the way as much as possible. I do have Goto but more often these days I observe with a 4" refractor on a manual alt-az mount. I find I spend too much time in front of a pc at work so do not want to put in the hours of processing necessary for imaging properly. With limited time, snatching a quick hour with minimal setup time is often all I can manage. All nighters are just not possible for me.

Before anyone takes offence at the above, I have utmost admiration for everyone who has been tempted to the dark side . It is a very skilled business and I really enjoy looking at all the images on the forum. Having a long term project, building and improving an image over months and even years must be very rewarding, it is just not for me. From what I have read, a number of imaging folk also have a dob handy for a spot of visual whilst the AP rig is doing its thing. That seems like a nice combination.

I think when I have time I will try my hand at sketching, and also getting more use out of my Watec video camera which is another good compromise between live viewing and seeing deeper.

Anyway, fortunately there is plenty of room for everyone and it would be mighty boring if we all liked the same thing. Just enjoy whatever you do!

Stu

[DaveS]

It was AP that brought me back to astronomy after a couple of decades away, being frustrated with London's LP and rubish seeing for planatary.

I tried a few photos with my DLSR and prime lenses, just on an ordinary photo tripod and was hooked again.

Started thinking about a tracking mount for the camera, something like an EQ 3.2 then it spiralled and I ended up with a Megrez 90 on a HEQ5

AP can be as simple / cheap or as complex / expensive as you want it to be all the way from a DSLR on a tripod geting 8 sec subs up to cooled CCD / NB and the rest. But for me, geting a colour image of eg M42 beets seeing a faint greenish-grey fuzzy.

When i'm using the 'scope for AP I'll generally have a pair of bins (Old Carl Zeiss 7x50s) for actually *looking* at the sky