A Quick History of Astrophotography

Why visual astronomy sucks - A history lesson with citations and peer reviewed papers to support my argument.
Also I tell you how to connect a camera to your telescope like a boss.
No sponsor today, just a non-commercial educational video :)
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[@richardlambert1528]

Pissed myself laughing at the Galileo part!!

[@jitan-art]

same!

[@AdirondackAstronomy]

Can't disagree with any of what you said, astrophotography is superior to visual. But that visual can be relaxing as hell, and sometimes an entire night of astrophotography is just swearing loudly and waking up your neighbors at 3am. Those good nights though are worth it all.

[@spamcan9208]

I just picked up this hobby a few weeks ago. Last night I took out a pair of binoculars and trudged through the freshly fallen snow on my deck and stared up at the crystal clear sky. The air was super crisp and it's amazing how much the naked eye misses. I can't wait for summer but I've read that the humidity affects seeing.

[@Astronurd]

@@spamcan9208 Visual astronomy is looking through a telescope not just your eyes

[@spamcan9208]

@@Astronurd I'm not sure I know what your point is. Are you saying that visual astronomy doesn't include binoculars or the unaided eye? Because visual astronomy predates the invention of the telescope.

[@Astronurd]

@@spamcan9208 Yes i know this, but what Dylan is always referring to is the astronomers who use their telescopes visually. He constantly derides us that do. I myself have two pairs of binoculars. A Pentax 20x60 WP and Opticron 15x70’s. I use these in rotation with my three telescopes.

[@spamcan9208]

@@Astronurd lol he's not being serious, it's a reoccurring joke he does.

[@Caedo12]

Greetings from America’s 2nd Civil War. Question: what exactly was Galileo drawing at 2:50? Looks sorta like a rocket. With balls.

[@MahmoudAhmed-bs6ng]

A star constellation duh

[@StarlightHunterAstro]

You can get your explaination here kzbin.info/www/bejne/lafdh5qOZqeneLs

[@GaryMCurran]

The Second American Revolution doesn't kick off until 2025, this is the opening shots. It's going to get a LOT worse in the next four years. Between the spiders, the jellyfish and dying in the desert from either not having enough water, or foolishly sticking your hand down a wombat hole, Australia is looking better all the time, except no guns, and that's a real negative for me.

[@onewhostudies6856]

wut? 2:18

[@gastonmacmillan4849]

I knew it was going to happen when I bought my first telescope just one year ago. I now have 3, the largest is 208mm and I’ve ordered all the parts to add a camera - going inexpensive, build some skill, then see what happens next. Thanks for your channel Dylan, it’s better than Mayberry RFD re-runs, and I learn stuff.

[@brtree74]

Awesome video Dylan. Loved the history. Brilliantly edited and researched😎👍👍👍

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks! It’s actually a short summary of an essay I wrote while I was studying which is why I had all the references :)

[@MrFingolfin]

You are just great man; keep inspiring people and please keep always that fantastic sense of humour that makes you unique among all astroph. KZbinrs

[@DylanODonnell]

Cheers Victor :)

[@jodyschultz5870]

Thing that got me hooked on AP was that last comet. Drove up a hill at midnight. Got out the car. Looked around for 5 min. "I think that smudge is it. Is that it? I think that might be it." Took a 30 sec shot with my entry level $500 (including 2 lenses and a bag) Canon DSLR. I wasn't even sure if it was in shot. Looked at the display on the back of the camera and it looked like a firework had gone off across the sky. Wow! OK now I get it.

[@earth9258]

“Why we photograph space” Me: trying to figure out why I photograph space before Dylan tells me.

[@JacquesMare]

@3:50 .... The parallax of Alpha Centauri was successfully measured from Cape Town, South Africa by Thomas Henderson using a mural circle. Bessel and Von Struve also made use of other instruments other than photography to measure their first parallaxes in the 1830's So it is possible to measure parallax without using a camera.

[@bofblog]

It's an amazing time to be around and see the progress..I have a few astronomy photo books from the early 70s (and one Astro book from 1860s by John Herschel) and to see what they did back then was amazing with film

[@elmikol2443]

Great stuff Dylan! Comedy, music, science and Astrophotography all in another outstanding video. Thanks for sharing!

[@TwoPancakes]

2:49 I fukin love those Easter “nuts”

[@Chamsdlr]

9:33 „throw your eyepieces away“ The roast

[@gregbromley152]

The pan out to your wife playing the violin while you gaze introspectively out at the hail storm was great. Comedy and cinematography all in one. Well done. Also, thanks for the astrophotography history lesson. You mentioned Harvard but do you feel the work of Brian Schmidt and his team have done in proving the universe is accelerating played any part in the development of better and larger telescopes and the cameras they used while hunting for supernovae, there by impacting astrophotography?

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh I skipped a lot .. but was focussing on examples where astrophotography impacted science not the other way around :)

[@georges3799]

You boys with your fancy CCD and CMOS cameras have it so easy. 😉 I personally miss my days working in a darkroom processing glass plates and film. After hours of manually guiding the scope, there was something extra special in watching the image appear while the plate was in the developer bath. And then there was the mind numbing experience of using a densitometer to manually measure the brightness of hundreds of stars. Clear skies to all.

[@DylanODonnell]

Hardcore man :)

[@sjpp71]

Great video, Dylan! Love the violin part!! Very fitting of these (cloudy and rainy) times were living. In the meantime, it doesnt hurt learning about the history of astrophotography

[@AstroLaVista]

You're a one man documentary machine, loved it!

[@frednurk4772]

An excellent video, really like the humour, I am always amazed at how much extra you have to spend to go from a ok image to wow.

[@parva777]

Another hilarious video 😂😂😂😂 Thank you Dylan, you made my day ! ... way too short !

[@DJRonnieG]

My plan is to buy all of the high-ticket astrophotography gear before I settle down. Hopefully that means a Losmandy mount and/or C11 by the end of the 2021. I like my EQ6-R Pro but I just don't think it's up to the task of long-exposure imaging w/ an SCT. In the mean time, I've switched-gears to wide-field on a Esprit ED100. My only issue, is when I order something that is said to be "in stock" but still end up waiting MONTHS for it to ship. As a result, I'm relegated to using a filter slider while I wait for the 11-slot filter wheel to arrive. Probably still waiting for it to be manufactured.

[@markszkil]

I appreciate your creativity as it consistently holds my interest. Thanks.

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks Mark :)

[@stephenmacmahon4837]

Great presentation and well researched.

[@hueginvieny7959]

Thanks for the video man getting into astrophotography is very overwhelming it's easy to worry everything I'm doing is wrong hopefully you continue with this type of video I will watch every second .

[@Wombatzone31]

Love it mate! Great vid as usual. Biggest questions I get tho are for getting a DSLR working with a Reflector...... maybe a vid on the pros and cons over a Reflector vs Smidt for photography. (would like to know myself as I am considering upgrading to a Smidt)

[@matthew944]

Great channel dude! What a fascinating history of astronomy. Such an amazing observatory you have!

[@Hellridermetal]

min 2:16 sounds like one of those observational astronomers tales xD! Nice vid, again!

[@mikemcwhorter5298]

At 5:17 you talk about persistence. I think if you have dedicated astro cameras or still visual we all share that persistence. Although when I have to drag my rig outside my persistence is tested 😂. Love you vids Dylan, keep em coming!

[@T-Bear]

Nice drawing of a rocket at 2:50 😏

[@trev354]

Bloody Good Job Dylan Loved the history

[@grkuntzmd]

The melancholic violin is the best!

[@Kyle_Hubbard]

0:16 Neat, free ice balls for the whisky.

[@Kyle_Hubbard]

Also at 1:22 you're actually looking better after than before. 1:02

[@gunnarkoksnase3243]

@@Kyle_Hubbard 1:02

[@deanmcalister3628]

Funny and informative! Nice one Dylan.

[@vnth2186]

Nice Easter eggs 🤣🤣

[@nguyenbw]

Thanks for another video Dylan. Watching your videos sometimes is just way more entertaining then reading Cloudy Nights, and seeing how people bash each other on what gear is better.

[@DylanODonnell]

Nerds eh !

[@astro_hunter1823]

Great video man 🌌🌌🤘🏻

[@Westlake]

Thanks Dylan! Great history lesson and again, another great video! 👌🏻👌🏻 🇨🇦

[@Rian19981998]

A man of culture! 2:50

[@rjackson5191]

Enjoyed that one. Thank you!

[@yashagarwal3999]

so deep it was , the history and the science of course

[@VincentGroenewold]

Very nice history overview, love it.

[@semvanluik7954]

Really awesome video man, I enjoyed it. 🙃

[@WhiteWulfe]

Jeez, even the hail tries to kill you in Australia. We only get hail that big when there's a decently sized tornado around... And we're at the edge of tornado alley.... The violin bit was hilarious too.

[@fidelpacheco8249]

Great explanation love it!

[@technobird22]

Great video as usual!

[@Aubstract]

Loved the history aspect!!

[@dot6102]

Very cool as always! cheers mate :)

[@gavin5326]

The history of astronomy and astrophotography is very interesting. I didn't know that what was (for 70+ years) the worlds biggest telescope was in Ireland. I used to think I lived in a boring place. Sadly I can't visit it because of lockdown, but hopefully soon I get a chance. Very interesting video as usual:)

[@petetube111]

Another great vid thanks Dylan. So what is you next mount you might get?

[@book3100]

Good to see your rain! Nice and fresh. Bad for astronomy, sure. But isn't it nice anyway! And good speech too. We've pretty much always had a camera on telescopes for anything useful. But I do like to just visually observe, just for the awe of it.

[@howardbond1583]

Nice approach; History of Astrophotography & How to put camera on telescope. Basic but still entertaining. And this is the perfect distraction from what is going on in US. Stay Safe Dylan Don’t ever lose your sense of humor!!

[@capturethephotons2078]

Flexxxin!!!!! Great video. Clear skies

[@OFBCyclingWorld]

Four "arc" minutes in to the video and I'm lusting after the piano!!!!!!

[@luboinchina3013]

Nice violin playing at the begining.😊

[@astrogirlau]

Great vid Doc

[@sufyansmits6410]

"Kids telescope" pointing towards a 600 dollar telescope. Mfw I'm using a 60 dollar telescope.

[@johngraham7045]

Great video! Just remember to balance your instrument after you attach a camera. It helps prevent the drive motors, from over working. Awesome video as always!

[@ezza2fly]

Very informative, great video! Looking at Galileos drawing of the moon he either had very bad optics or was very drunk.

[@onewhostudies6856]

Thank you so much for diving down the deep dark hole of no return, so that I don't have to. You are the best.

[@robsbackyardastrophotograp8885]

Thanks for the history lesson Dr. D!

[@DylanODonnell]

Anytime Rob :)

[@carlosmonroy4511]

"Astrophotography, not even once" 😂😂😂 Love your videos.

[@banddlarsen89]

love the intro with your wife! i look forward to you videos they are great

[@majestikkal8603]

Watching Dylan do all that curling, was impressive. He must be so buff 💪 under that white coat. 😂

[@tmrdarkstar85]

100% Facts Astrophotography is a black hole money goes in an pretty photos are ejected "with a lot of work an practice".... In my 2nd year of astrophotography an I have already well crossed the 5 figure mark. But Dylan if we could go back an make the decision all over again "not how the space time continuum works" I would still have made the same choice maybe not the same 1st scope. However I defiantly love Astrophotography as well as sharing the results. Seeing a person's eyes light up when you show them a compressed an scaled jpg on your phone of any of your captures is priceless. Sure everything is meaningless an we are all going to die, But while we are alive in our current state we have a purpose an our hobby is a very humbling and inspiring one.

[@DylanODonnell]

Well said!

[@Avanteesh_Astro206]

Awesome Video Dylan. You Covered Brief History. Fun Video ,,, how Are You Getting On : ) well Astronomy Has Lot To Do With Maths and Physics. Good Explanation Dude. Our Universe Is Biggg.

[@TheUrbanAstronomer]

Great video as always. I am glad I bought the QHY462C - brings out details a lot better than my mirrorless can, way better.

[@DylanODonnell]

It’s really an amazing little camera for the price! Best of class.

[@pnjunction5689]

0:22 time for a radio telescope

[@Microtonal_Cats]

0:22 Felliniesque

[@MrGp3po]

Sounds like my history. LOL I started out at age 9 or 10 with a Tasco 50mm but never did much astrophotography until those handy dandy smart phones came around. When I retired, I bought myself a 10" Dob and enjoyed visual mucho better and the occasional short phone photo. One year into that, I got an 80mm refractor on a tracking mount and with stop watch in hand, tried out my old Nikon D40. After the initial 120 second wait time (exposure), the image of M42 was jaw-dropping (and the hook went into my lip). Now, a few thousand $$$ later, I enjoy the challenge of astrophotography and love to set up both scopes and visual the time away while the photo rig snaps away.

[@tommccrorie8022]

Brilliant bit of history in there… and love the ‘focus’ on attaching the camera to the OTA. Although you could’ve shown the camera attachment a bit quicker for God sake ;-)

[@jamesdougan8789]

g`day dylan i guess when you only have a candle to see what your drawing in the middle of the night you can be out by a bit and a 1/2 lol i think old galileo did ok with what he had to work with back then ....great video dylan i enjoyed the history lesson would like to read the rest of your essay of which the video is a summary of .... you should get your trouble and strife (the wife) to play more on your videos i remember the carpark (i think you were in a carpark) video when she last played violin on your video ... great work misses o`donnell cheers james D

[@jaimeechegaray2251]

Looks like Galileo drawings resemble Seth´s in SuperBad movie. Interesting....

[@PafMedic]

Hi Dylan,Ive Played a Violin Since I Was Around 11-12..,Im Just Wrapping Up a 52 Hour Shift..Not a Good Few Days..I Hate Alcohol.. Going To Try and Get Some Data On The Orion Nebula Before Calling It a Night,Clear Skies,and Stay Safe🙏🏼🌏🔭❤️

[@andygaras]

any tips on interpreting some of the scientific information we see in astrophotographs

[@chrisstrobel3439]

Somebody needs to do the history of amateur astrophotography, I was around doing it starting in the 70’s up to around the early mid 90’s with hyper sensitized film, there is quite a rich and interesting history from the amateur side too.

[@endless-sky2777]

From the most likely accurate historical evidence depicted at 2:50, we can safely say that Galileo was better at drawing p*****s, than drawing accurate star/lunar charts...

[@DenisMartin72]

Was looking for this comment 😂

[@flanerpete2040]

Anna finally playing again ... albeit ever so briefly ... 😊

[@gman9525]

Thank you for getting to the basics. What do you think about using filters or filter wheels in your photography? I need more basics like this as a novice.

[@DylanODonnell]

I have a few videos about colour and colour theory in astro :)

[@takezochouji]

Great video! 🌚👍🏾

[@spencerhochstetler]

Galileo was awesome. Let's not forget that. But, he was sauced when he drew star fields (not that there is anything wrong with that). Fact. Why? Because you read it here.

[@savtheastroguy]

Hey Dylan, you and Trevor from astrobackyard inspired me into the astrophotography world. Since i fell in love with it im planning on buying a astrophotography equipment. What im thinking to buy is: Skywatcher EQ5 pro for mount, a skywatcher 150/750 f5 telescope, a small guide scope, and a autoguiding cam, all of these would cost me about 1200-1300 dollars. I already have a dslr and a laptop so i don't need to buy them. Do you think these equipment would give me good and sharp images of nebulae and galaxies with 1-8 hours of exposure depending on what object? And if any suggestions on what part of the equipment i should change please let me know and please don't recommend expensive equipments because i cant afford them.

[@jodyschultz5870]

This Dude just cracks me up.

[@ronstewtsaw]

I think you'll find that gravity bending light is general relativity, not special. That 1881 nebula photo blows me away.

[@DylanODonnell]

Correct, thanks !

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Nicely done Dylan! You get hail storms in Australia?

[@DylanODonnell]

Not uncommon especially here in the subtropics!

[@RaysAstrophotography]

@@DylanODonnell Wow! It will knock off a lot of small shrubs! sometimes here in North Texas, we get baseball size hail. We have to replace our roofs if that happens

[@buckrodgers2303]

Hi Dylan Just getting started with this hobby. Bought a Star Adventurer pro pack, but am having real difficulties polar aligning it. I'm in Lismore, so not too far from you, but when I try to find the small group of stars for the alignment, I just can't see them. Not naked eye or with the polar scope. Spent last night starring at the Southern Celestial Pole (thanks to Stellarium) for over an hour. Please help. Do you have any advise for a complete idiot😁 trying to align this dam thing? Cheers

[@Starman1959]

Hi Dylan, My school is currently applying for an ICT innovation fund from the Hong Kong government that needs to focus on future ready learning outcomes like Ai, Big Data, IoT etc. We are planning to build an automated observatory but to be eligible for the funding we need to connect the dots in regards to how the students will use the data from the Telescope to better understand future ready technologies. They have asked for specific softwares which I have considered Tensorflow and other API's but being a novice in this field I would love your help or feedback on which direction to take!

[@Ben_Stewart]

2:51 I see what you did there.

[@johnnyredfireastroimaging5266]

Could you attach the adapter after the 0.63 reducer?

[@ryanmichaelhaley]

"Astrophotography, not even once." - best advice I never followed.

[@ntd1219]

Great video Dylan, just one point of order though. The observed change in position of the stars during the eclipse was a confirmation of Einstein's theory of General (not special) relativity. Cheers

[@MarcelBlattner]

This is what we call “klugscheisser” in German. But yeah... it’s true, it’s the confirmation of the general theory of relativity. Great video @dylan.

[@marc2026]

Bought a table top dob. Made the silly mistake of "try taking a photo using it"...now everything appears to have been made with unobtainium.

[@garethbellamy2703]

Ha, who would have thought astronomers had a funny bone. Thank you Dylan good background to a number of interesting astrophotography histories. I've enrolled in a gym membership to flex up.. And emptying children's coin collections and piggybanks

[@nicholashernandez4367]

Lol 2:50

[@crashstunts]

DIck pic, never knew Galileo drew those!

[@xsauce3858]

that little camera is more expensive than my scope

[@robertstuck3214]

Bottomless pit is right. I am now finding that there is always a new shinny object to buy. I also have a new pet peeve. It is geared toward people making astrophotography videos and they name their videos "budget" astrophotography. Don't make me laugh.....Nice flex BTW... Keep up the great work.

[@Microtonal_Cats]

5:24 Backfocus.

[@astrosrscat]

the hailstorm kinda hard

[@enbi1352]

Greetings from Milan Italy 😂😂😂😂 wondering on what constellation Galileo’s drawing Was referring to.

[@DylanODonnell]

Can’t remember now!

[@recusant1619]

Galileo was an artist :-)

[@GuybrushThriftweed]

No no no! Visual only. No rabbits and no screwing around.

[@nigelorr7938]

Special relativity does not deal with gravitation but rather object moving at a constant velocity. It was/is the theory of General Relativity which describes gravity (in terms of the geometry of space time) and hence made the prediction regarding the deflection of photons passing near a massive object (to be complete, Newtonian Gravity also predicts a deflection but with about half the value of that predicted by Relativity) . Suggest you read a little more history of astronomy (eg., "The Sleep Walkers") to see how visual astronomy, without even telescopes, was crucial to the development of modern physics - Brahe -> Kepler -> Newton ...