How can you take good star photos?


Answer: Taking good star photos requires 3 critical elements: good observation conditions, good equipment and plenty of time. Picking a dark site without a lot of light pollution that's away from cities and other strong sources of light is a must. The weather also has to be clear, without clouds, and preferably on a night without full moon which is another source of light pollution. On the equipment side, if you're planning to use a cellphone, make sure that it has a night mode and you have a way to keep it immobile for the duration of the photo, which could take 4 or more minutes. You will get better results with a digital camera as those have larger lenses which can capture more light. Also remember that the longer the photo, the more the earth will turn, causing your starts to appear as trails in the photo - which may or may not be desired. For professional looking photos you'll need a telescope, and remember that no matter what you do, your photos won't look anything like those coming from Hubble and other large telescopes. Lastly, plan on spending plenty of time - the longer the exposure the better you can see the stars, and you might want to take several photos - try different parts of the sky, see what happens when you include the ground or not, and remember to let your eyes adjust to the dark and look around yourself, while you're taking the photos!