Astronomy - Introduction to Astronomical Imaging

This course provides a practical introduction to the principles and techniques of astronomical imaging. Students explore how telescopes, cameras, and filters work together to capture detailed images of celestial objects. The course covers image acquisition, calibration, noise reduction, stacking, and post processing. Learners will work with real astronomical datasets to produce scientifically useful and aesthetically compelling images of planets, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies.

Designed for beginners and hobbyists, this course teaches the fundamentals of astrophotography using both consumer grade and professional imaging equipment. Topics include exposure settings, tracking systems, long exposure imaging, dark and flat frames, and colour composition. Students gain hands on experience with industry standard software to stack and enhance deep sky images while learning the science behind what they capture.

This course focuses on the digital techniques astronomers use to turn raw telescope data into high quality scientific images. Students examine CCD/CMOS sensor technology, signal to noise ratios, calibration pipelines, photometric accuracy, and data analysis. The course emphasises the relationship between imaging techniques and scientific outcomes, preparing learners for research involving observational data.

We also look at Digital SLR cameras, compact cameras and smartphones and how we can use them in effective astronomical imaging.