Astrophotography

Abstract

In the recent past, astrophotography has been revolutionised by numerous new, digital photographic devices and their corresponding software, often dedicated to very specialised tasks in astronomy. This chapter is an attempt to give a brief overview of todays most relevant imaging tools (e.g. CMOS-based DSLR, traditional SLR, cooled CCD, webcam, CCTV-camera), and how they are applied to the main tasks in astrophography. In particular, the following applications are discussed: (i) simple photos of the constellations, (ii) guided, long exposures of deep star fields in low and high magnification, (iii) high-resolution imaging of the Moon, the planets and the Sun, and (iv) documentation of special occasions like solar eclipses, meteor showers and comets. These techniques are presented (in hardwarwe and software) from the user's point of view, aimed at helping active amateur astronomers and astronomy students alike to understand the basics of each approach.