Solar System

Imaging the Sun, Planets, & Moons

This is definitely an area where I do not have much experience or the proper equipment to get “high quality” images, but I wanted to at least show my progress with learning how to photograph planetary objects, including the Moon.

Photographing the Moon is fairly easy due to its apparent size in the night sky and brightness. Other planets however, are much more difficult due to their apparent size. To be able to pick out any details or moons requires a focal length above 1,500mm and a planetary camera.

With something so small in the sky and such a long focal length, even air turbulence can blur your images. Because of this, a technique called “Lucky Imaging” is used to take a video of the object, then software selects the sharpest frames to stack and process.