Podcaster: Exodus Chun-Long Sit
Title: ASTROMAN: The Dark Sky Guardian – Astrophotography Tips for Astronomy Beginners
Organization: IAU NAEC & Co-NOC Hong Kong, China
Link: https://exodussit.wordpress.com/english
Description: Join us as ASTROMAN delve into the wonders of the universe and explore the latest in astronomy and astrophotography. So what is astrophotography? Astrophotography is the art of capturing image of celestial objects and events.
“ASTROMAN: the Dark Sky Guardian” is a podcast channel that aims to explore popular science in multiple disciplines and research on interdisciplinary approaches, such as sustainability, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, space exploration, astronomy innovation, inclusive science communication, and STEAM Education by integrating science and arts.
Bio: Exodus CL Sit, also known as the ASTROMAN, is a transmedia astronomy educator, popular science author, STEAM educator, and science communicator in Hong Kong. He is recently the National Astronomy Education Coordinator (Chair of Hong Kong, China) of the International Astronomical Union and President of Starrix. He was also an International Committee Member of the Dark Sky International, regularly organizing public lectures at the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Science Museum. He was also the author of a popular science book “Decoding the Starry Night: A Guide to Stargazing and Astrophotography”.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: Paul M. Sutter, Chris Nealen, Frank Frankovic, Frank Tippin, Jako Danar, Michael Freedman, Nik Whitehead, Rani Bush, Ron Diehl, Steven Emert, Brett Duane, Don Swartwout, Vladimir Bogdanov, Steven Kluth, Steve Nerlich, Phyllis Foster, Michael W, James K Wood, Katrina Ince, Cherry Wood.
Please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org.
Please visit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy
or you can consider to sponsor a day of our podcast : https://cosmoquest.org/x/365daysofastronomy/product/sponsor-an-episode-of-365-days-of-astronomy/
Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Astro Man the Dark Sky Guardian the podcast where we delve into the wonders of the universe and explore the latest in astronomy and astrophotography. I am your host Exodus Chanonsis, IAU National Astronomy Education Coordinator and also the co-National Outreach Coordinator of Hong Kong, China. And today we are going to talk about astrophotography allowing you to start your journey into the cosmos.
Astrophotography offers you a unique way to capture and appreciate the beauty of the night sky. So what is astrophotography? Astrophotography is the art of capturing image of celestial objects and events.
It involves using specific equipment to photograph stars, planets, galaxies and other phenomena in the universe. To capture the freeze moment in particular time that can see spectacular astronomical events and objects. So why start with astrophotography?
As a beginner, astrophotography is an excellent way to engage with astronomy. It encourages you to spend more time observing the sky, learning about celestial events and understanding your camera’s mechanics will allow you to foster a deeper connection with the universe. So what is the basic equipment that we need?
To start with astrophotography you don’t need to break the bank. Here are some basic pieces of equipment that you might consider including the camera that allowing you to manually adjust settings like ISO, shadow speed and aperture which are crucial to capture the night sky. Besides a stable tripod is essential for keeping your camera stable during long time exposures.
You cannot hold the camera steady enough by hand especially in no light conditions. More importantly you might consider to prepare a wide angle lens. It is perfect for capturing the broad wisters of the night sky and if you are interested in planetary photography you may consider a telephoto lens or telescope with camera adapter can be used.
You may also consider preparing a remote shutter release or timer that allowing you to help prevent camera shake when you are pressing the shutter button. And you may also consider to prepare a star tracking mount for advanced astrophotography especially when capturing deep sky objects like galaxies or nebulas. Star tracking mount can be invaluable to ensure that you can capture take a longer picture about the celestial objects in a long time exposure.
It is really important to find a dark locations in order to ensure that the light pollution might not be significantly reduce the visibility of the stars. Try to find a spot away from city lights with better results. You should also understand all your camera settings in order to have more practice in daily life in night time to have a better preparation and learning by testing through trial and error or different experience allowing you to have a better understanding to practice and experiments.
Don’t be discouraged if your first attempts don’t turn out as expected. Keep trying different settings or techniques until you find the best way which work best for you before going to the vacation in other places for astrophotography for capturing the Milky Way galaxies. And besides, you may also consider editing your photos by using some professional softwares and astrophotography processing software.
They are allowing you to have some adjustment in exposure and contrast of the colors and details of your image. More importantly, you can also use some tools to minimize digital noise especially in low light conditions. And there are a lot of different subjects that we can capture in the night sky including the Milky Way galaxies which is more easy to be captured during the summer time in the Northern Hemisphere.
And besides, you may also consider using some telephotos lens to capture the image of moons and the details of planets that can be seen through telescope. And astrophotography is not just about taking photos but it’s all about sharing your passion and your happiness under the night sky with others. Please feel free to join different all-night astronomy forums or local astronomy clubs to connect with fellow enthusiasts and work together in order to learn more about astrophotography and some hands-on skills.
And there are a lot of different things that we can explore about astrophotography. And always remember one thing, not just by taking pictures about the night sky but every time when you are under the night sky, stargazing and enjoyment through astronomical observation are equally important instead of allowing you to really enjoy the night sky and really learn about the astronomy knowledge behind every astronomical object that you are taken through by your telescope or by your camera.
It’s really important to really enjoy the wonders of the night sky and the universe. And this is all about the sharing of today and thank you everyone. Cool.
Thank you. Thank you.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
=====================
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Planetary Science Institute. Audio post production by me, Richard Drumm, project management by Avivah Yamani, and hosting donated by libsyn.com. This content is released under a creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. Please share what you love but don’t sell what’s free.
This show is made possible thanks to the generous donations of people like you! Please consider supporting our show on Patreon.com/CosmoQuestX and get access to bonus content. Without your passion and contribution, we won’t be able to share the stories and inspire the worlds. We invite you to join our community of storytellers and share your voice with listeners worldwide.
As we wrap up today’s episode, we are looking forward to unravel more stories from the Universe. With every new discovery from ground-based and space-based observatories, and each milestone in space exploration, we come closer to understanding the cosmos and our place within it.
Until next time let the stars guide your curiosity!