Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
The Hubble telescope has been showing us breathtaking images of space since its launch in 1990. So far it has made 1.4 million observations. Physicist Dr Casey Handmer took 936,000 of these observations and created an insanely detailed composite image of all of them.
After piecing the composite together (using calculations and coding rather than Photoshop!) Dr Handmer realised that around 0.8 per cent of the sky was on show.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sent its first photos earlier this year. Since then, it has come a long way, going through seven stages of mirror alignment. Astrophotography and astronomy fans, rejoice: Webb’s mirror alignment has now reached its final stage, and this is the final countdown until it’s fully operational.
The ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at the speed of 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometers) per hour. On top of that, it’s very rare to see it during the day. So, capturing it in daylight is pretty tricky and requires some serious planning and preparation.
Chinese photographer Wang Letian captured the ISS at the right place and at the right time, and his photo even became NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for 11 April. No wonder, as it shows the ISS passing in front of the very active sun, making the viewer’s jaw drop in awe. We chatted with Letian a bit about his image and how he took it, and he kindly shared some backstory and the image itself with DIYP.
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has finished the fifth stage of its mirror alignment, and everything went well. In fact, it went so well that the telescope has even exceeded NASA’s expectations. Judging from the latest results, JWST will be able to meet or even exceed the goals scientists have set for it.
When you want to take space photos, you should point your camera and telescope up. Or should you? If you know where to look, galaxy-like formations can even be anywhere, and Finnish photographer Juha Tanhua proves it in this fantastic photo series.
“Hubble? No! James Webb? No!” is a collection of photos that appear to show distant galaxies. But instead of looking up into the sky, Juha pointed his camera to gasoline stains on the local parking lot.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has treated us with some stunning photos so far (like that time when it “touched” the Sun). But now, its cameras have turned to Venus.
The probe has taken its first-visible light images of the surface of Venus. And not only it’s Parker’s first, but this is the first-ever photo of our neighboring planet taken in the light that the human eye can see.
We have welcomed the Year of the Tiger yesterday, and it looks like Lunar New Year isn’t only celebrated here on Earth. China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 sends its greetings from the Red Planet’s orbit and shares a video selfie it snapped on 1 February, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched its Tianwen 1 Mars mission in July 2020. And this Saturday, it has sent back its first photos of the Red Planet, along with the mission orbiter flying around it.
We’ve seen plenty of awesome photos of the Martian surface thanks to Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. But ESA has recently shared an aerial shot that looks more like an abstract photo. It shows a white icy crate standing out against the red surface of Mars, and it’s truly gorgeous.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa recently joined the crew onboard the International Space Station. While enjoying his exclusive trip around the Earth, he filmed a pretty cool timelapse. He described the experience as “beautiful,” and judging from his video – I have no reason not to believe him.
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