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Astronaut Don Pettit shows how to take long-exposure photos from the ISS
NASA astronaut Don Pettit has shared his expertise on taking stunning long-exposure photos from the International Space Station (ISS). To achieve this, he built a homemade star tracker that allows him to capture clear images of the stars without any distortion.
In a Reddit thread, Pettit described how he brought his custom-made device with him to space. A star tracker is typically designed to rotate in sync with the Earth or a moving platform, preventing star trails from appearing in photographs. However, Pettit’s innovative solution allows him to match the ISS’s pitch rate by completing a rotation every 90 minutes.
Without this clever device, Pettit noted that it would be impossible to take photos longer than half a second without stars appearing blurry due to the rapid motion of the ISS. His tracker enables him to capture exposures up to 30 seconds in length without significant star movement.
The astronaut also highlighted the challenges he faced while taking these photographs through the ISS’s windows. He mentioned that the four panes of glass, including two thick ones, introduce distortion and relative optical induced star motion, making it even more difficult to achieve high-quality images.
Pettit shared his impressive photos on Reddit and Instagram, showcasing what the view from the ISS looks like without compensating for its movement. The pictures are a testament to his creativity and resourcefulness in overcoming the technical challenges of space photography.
For those interested in seeing more of Pettit’s incredible photographs, he has made them available on his Reddit account page, X, and Instagram.
Source: www.theverge.com
