The human being has always been favored by space, so much so that he is eager to seek to explore much of it. From the more extraordinary feats such as trips to the moon or the planet Mars, even the simple fact of taking pictures of stars. Each of these actions contributes enormously to deciphering, step by step, the mysteries that the cosmos harbors.
In that sense, today you will learn more about the way in which astronomy is able to clearly show the magnificence of the stars. And, why not, make your own captures of these luminous beings as old as the universe.
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Discover the most fascinating star photographs so far!
With the advancement of technology, more and more are the instruments aimed at capturing space objects. Therefore, the photographs of stars are part of that type of action, being increasingly sharp and in high definition.
Source: Photographer's Blog
Beyond the fact of being a simple photograph, in reality, they represent impressive scientific findings. The stars are enigmatic beings that have been among the universe since ancient times, as long-lived as it.
Through a simple photo, too much can be determined about a or of a particular group of stars. For example, its light level, its distance from Earth, or the amount of energy it radiates.
In the same way, through the photographs of stars, the base is laid to later calculate, exactly, how old it is. Also, the stars symbolize how gigantic the universe is, because there are millions and millions of them. For this reason, they remember, every second, how insignificant the human being is compared to them.
Y, precisely because they are an almost infinite number of sidereal objects, There are also a large number of associated photographs. In fact, several of them are considered great scientific and astronomical pieces. Here are the next highlights.
The VISTA telescope and its love for the Milky Way
The galaxy where the Solar System is located is made up of innumerable amounts of stars in every corner of it. However, practically the majority of them were captured by the VISTA telescope and its impressive infrared.
Through different shots at different angles, VISTA was able to photograph different areas of the Milky Way. Then, thanks to the hard work of the scientific community, a puzzle was put together with the collected material.
The result was extraordinary, creating an image of up to more than 9 gigapixels with an enviable resolution. Without a doubt, a piece of art and experimentation that left humanity speechless.
At the same time, the image facilitated the study of certain erratic individual stars, whose behavior generated interest. For this reason, it is not only a decorative image, but with an important background.
A look through Hubble and Spitzer
Thanks to the work of these two telescopes and their powerful infrared, one of the most amazing pictures of stars was achieved. In fact, by combining the work of both observatories, the result was fantastic. It shows massive stars, as well as a closer look at Sagittarius A, an infamous black hole in the Milky Way.
In addition, it was possible to conclude that the environment where such a scenario unfolds is engulfed in a hot cloud of dust and turbulent ionized gas. Therefore, the conditions are extreme and inhospitable, difficult for the community to imagine.
Similarly, the NASA was able to carry out, through the collected data, a small drill. He himself recounted the experience of a remnant supernova, being consumed little by little by the attraction of Sagittarius A.
The GAIA mission and its delimitation of the galaxy
Following the launch of the GAIA mission, sought to learn more about the depth of the galaxy. This space assignment was intended to take pictures of the stars that make up the Milky Way as such to generate a map.
Although at the beginning of the mission it was a high risk, in the end, the information collected was a resounding success. In fact, the ESA, promoter of the mission, was able to create, in a realistic way, an accurate star map.
Over 2 million stars included in 3D format, this visualization represents one of the most relevant star photographs. Likewise, its achievement has resumed efforts in the study of the origins of the galaxy.
Interested in knowing how to take pictures of stars? Discover the way!
Before knowing how to take pictures of stars, you need to have the ideal equipment. In that sense, have an advanced and compact SLR camera, supported by a tripod. In addition, you will need excellent lighting, extra batteries and the "remote shutter" option for greater precision.
- Firstly, “infinity focus” should be set instead of autofocus. Also, make sure that the ISO sensitivity of the camera ranges between 2000 and 4000 points.
- Activate manual mode to control the aperture of the camera's diaphragm down to a value of f/2 of/3,5. Next, set the shutter speed between 10 to 15 seconds according to your preferences. Then, it will be enough for you to select the “remote shot” option to continue.
- Then disable the “image stabilizer” function and choose the RAW+JPEG format. The latter is an essential step when learning how to take pictures of stars.
- As a final step, carefully place the camera on top of the tripod. Always keep in mind that you must be extremely far from light pollution, that is, far from the city.
Extra fact. Is it difficult to take pictures of shooting stars?
To take pictures of shooting stars, you need to have the features and settings previously shown. As the only difference, the camera used must be wide angle and this time, activate the autofocus mode.
Source: The Confidential
In that sense, a trick or extra relevant data to take pictures of shooting stars is to locate the radiant. This zone refers to the common place where a star comes from. That is, when you visualize one in the clear sky, from where it triggered, it will be its radiant. So point it about 20° out and you're good to go. The rest is patience!