David’s Astronomy Pages
Web site created & designed by David Mottershead
Copyright © David Mottershead
The photos in this section are a mixture of shots of constellations, conjunctions and other night sky images. While all astrophotography requires planning and practise, this type of astrophotography is by far the easiest. A 35mm film or DSLR camera on a tripod will capture some good images of the night sky - just remember to time the exposures carefully to avoid star trials, unless of course that’s the effect that you want to capture. Longer exposure requires the camera to track the motion of the stars across the sky, and the bigger the lens used, the more quickly they will appear to move across the exposure. To do this most ‘piggyback’ the camera on a telescope that has a motor driven mount, allowing the camera to track the sky at the same rate that the stars appear to move across the sky. But for basic photos of constellations, a camera and tripod are all that are needed. On the next clear night why not give it a try!
