Where can I find upcoming celestial events worth photographing?
Asked 4/23/2011
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I’m getting started with astrophotography and want to photograph less-common subjects than the usual constellations or the Moon. Where can I look up upcoming events such as comets, eclipses, meteor showers, and planetary alignments? Also, how can I judge which events are likely to be worthwhile to photograph—especially if I’d need to drive away from city lights—and which ones are less practical with typical camera gear?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
9
Google will tell you most of these things, as they are all regular and 'calculatable' events. Wolfram Alpha has a very comprehensive eclipse set-up too. Or you can simply buy a book - there are plenty of 'star guides' that include dates for eclipses and meteor showers.
Unless you have your camera hooked up to a telescope, or you have a massive lens and a motor drive, things like planetary alignments are probably not worth driving out of town for. Likewise, meteors are tricky to photograph as they are unpredictable and flash across the sky in a split second.
Eclipses and comets are somewhat more stationary, but they are few and far between.
Why limit yourself to 'events'? There's plenty in the night sky to photograph every night. The plain old moon can make spectacular photos, especially if you shoot it in its gibbous stage so you've got some shadows in the craters. Point your camera at the lower half of Orion's sword, open the shutter for 5 seconds, then take a look at the screen. You will see a glowing purple cloud: the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery.
Shooting things that are there every night also means you get good practice for taking photos of rarer astronomical events.
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
15y ago
0
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A good starting point is an astronomy calendar for dates of eclipses, meteor showers, comet appearances, and similar events. For planning in more detail, planetarium software such as Stellarium is very useful because it lets you preview the future positions of stars and planets from your location. General web searches and tools like Wolfram Alpha can also help, especially for eclipse timing.
As for what’s worth the trip: eclipses and comets are usually better photographic targets because they’re relatively stationary compared with meteors. Meteor showers can be rewarding, but individual meteors are unpredictable and brief, so they’re harder to capture. Planetary alignments may not be very impressive in photos unless you have specialized gear such as a telescope setup, a very long lens, and tracking.
Also, don’t overlook non-event subjects. There is plenty to photograph in the night sky on ordinary nights, and the Moon can make excellent images.
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