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Photographing the Universe



For centuries, humans have been drawing what they see in the night sky through telescopes. But there is something about a photograph that can make you feel you are right there, up close to the moon, planet, star or galaxy you are looking at. Having the light from those distance objects, fixed in an image, has meant scientists can analyse and understand the beautiful universe around us. So, this month, the Sky at Night is looking at the wonderful world of astrophotography.\n\nDr Jen Gupta visits Chris to talk about her favourite pictures, many of which have changed our very understanding of the cosmos. Some leave us with questions still unanswered, even 60 years on.\n\nMaggie is in Scotland looking at the latest in new technology being built for the Very Large Telescope. Once installed, it will give scientists the ability to understand and study the formation of galaxies throughout the entire history of the universe.\n\nMeanwhile, the Sky at Night’s very own astrophotographer, Pete Lawrence, takes a trip down memory lane, revisiting some of his highlights over the years. \n\nPlus, a look at how the camera on your phone can be a great place to start if you are new to taking astrophotographs and want to give it a go.\n\nWith favourite pictures, competition-winning images and a guide to all there is to see and do in the coming month, there is lots to discover.

Source: BBC 4

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