All the features that you get on Google Pixel smartphones


Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Google Pixel smartphones have been some of the best Android smartphones you can buy, but their presence at the top is surprising if you take a deeper look at the spec sheet. The Pixels barely have top-of-the-line specifications, trailing behind most market leaders. However, thanks to some nifty software magic, Google can extract the most possible value out of hardware. We can see this in action with the Google Camera app on Pixel smartphones, which enables some cool photography features. Here are all the features that you get on the Google Camera app.

What is Google Camera?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Google Camera is the default camera application shipped on Google Pixel smartphones. Most OEMs ship their own modified camera app on their smartphones as part of their Android skin, so Google is no different.

What makes Google Camera unique is that it can extract the best results out of dated camera hardware often found on Pixel smartphones. The Google Camera app contains most of the algorithms responsible for Google’s software magic on photos.

These software optimizations are so potent that third-party modders regularly attempt to port the latest Google Camera app from Pixel devices to other Android smartphones, improving the photography prowess of their non-Pixel hardware.

The Google Camera app was initially released to the public on the Google Play Store. But those days are long gone. Google Camera is now exclusive to Pixel smartphones. If you spot the app on a non-Pixel smartphone, it will likely be a third-party Google Camera port (often called “GCam” in this context).

Google Camera: Photo features

The Google Camera app has many features, but it also misses out on some, like a dedicated manual or Pro mode for photos and videos. Not packing a manual mode is a feature in itself, as you, as an average user, need to trust the Pixel to take the best shot for you.

Despite such a flaring shortcoming, the Google Camera app is still one of the best camera apps for Android. The presence of these other features compensates for the missing Pro mode.

HDR Plus

The highlight feature of the Google Camera app is HDR Plus, which was added around the release of the Nexus 6. HDR Plus is the engine behind HDR imaging in the Google Camera app. In its early announcement posts in 2014, the company said it uses “computational photography” for HDR Plus.

When you press the shutter button in the Google Camera app, HDR Plus captures a rapid burst of three to 15 pictures and combines them into one.

In low light scenes, HDR Plus takes a burst of shots with short exposure times, aligns them algorithmically, and then claims to replace each pixel with the average color at the position across these burst shots. Using short exposures reduces blur while averaging shots reduces noise.

In scenes with high dynamic range, HDR Plus follows the same technique, and it manages to avoid blowing out the highlights and combines enough shots to reduce noise in the shadows.

In scenes with high dynamic range, the shadows can often remain noisy as all images captured in a burst remain underexposed. This is where the Google Camera app uses exposure bracketing, making use of two different exposures and combining them.

HDR Plus with Bracketing is the highlight feature of the Google Camera app.

The experience with exposure bracketing gets complicated with Zero Shutter Lag (ZSL, more on this feature below). HDR Plus works around ZSL by capturing frames before and after the shutter press. One of the shorter exposure frames is used as the reference frame to avoid clipped highlights and motion blur. Other frames are aligned to this frame, merged, and then de-ghosted through a spatial merge algorithm that decides per pixel whether image content should be merged or not.

If all of this sounds complicated and confusing to you as a user, fret not. The Google Camera app doesn’t require you to worry about these details. You just have to click photos; Google’s algorithms will handle the rest.

Here are some camera samples from the Pixel 7 Pro’s primary camera:

Night Sight

Night Sight is all of HDR Plus but in very low light. Because of the lack of light, the exposures and burst limits are allowed to be liberally longer. The time to take a night shot is thus longer, and a stronger element of motion must be compensated for.

You can expect a Night Sight photo to take about one to three seconds, and we’d advise you to wait another second after pressing the shutter button. Pixel smartphones will automatically enable Night Sight when it is dark, though you can manually toggle the mode if necessary. Note that Night Sight does not work if you have Flash turned on.

On newer Pixel smartphones, the denoising process in the HDR Plus process during Night Sight uses new neural networks that run on the Tensor processor. This has yielded improvements in the speed of a Night Sight shot.

Here are some Night Sight samples from the Pixel 7 Pro:

Astrophotography

You need to mount your Pixel smartphone on a tripod and be in practically pitch-black conditions (away from city lights) with your phone pointed toward the clear sky. Once your Pixel phone determines the conditions to be right, it will show a message “Astrophotography on.”

In this mode, the Pixel phone will take 16 16-second photos and merge them to produce one detailed photograph. You can also create a cool one-second astrophotography timelapse of this 16-second shot.

Zero Shutter Lag (ZSL)

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Zero Shutter Lag has long been an invisible feature in the Google Camera experience. The philosophy with Zero Shutter Lag is self-explanatory: What you click should be immediately captured. Users should be able to click the shutter button and forget about the image if they wish. The task should be done right at the button press, requiring no further waiting for processing to complete.

However, this is easier said than done, especially considering features like HDR Plus (combining a burst of images) and pixel binning (combining adjacent pixels) are inherently compute-intensive.

ZSL gets around this by capturing frames before the shutter is pressed! In some situations, like HDR Plus, longer exposures are captured after the shutter is pressed, though this experience is often hidden from the viewfinder.

ZSL used to be a more vital feature when phone processors were slow and required a lot of time to process an image. Zero Shutter Lag no longer gets advertised as strongly, as the feature is now practically seen across the smartphone ecosystem in ideal lighting conditions.

ZSL is also fairly challenging to orchestrate in current times, where our reliance on computational photography is at an all-time high. It gets further eclipsed by features like Night Sight and Astrophotography that intentionally take multiple seconds to capture photos.

Super Res Zoom

Kevin Convery / Android Authority

Historically, Pixels haven’t had the latest camera hardware, so Google had to rely on software magic to meet customer expectations. For instance, Google resisted adding a telephoto camera for optical zoom on the Pixel for quite some time and instead developed the Super Res Zoom feature that mimics the same functionality with digital zoom.

Super Res Zoom was introduced with the Pixel 3. On that phone, this feature merged many frames onto a higher resolution picture (multi-frame super-resolution) instead of upscaling a crop of a single image that digital zoom often did. This technique allowed the Pixel 3 with its single camera to achieve zoom details at the 2x level that was surprisingly better than expected out of digital zoom.

Super Res Zoom salvages the results of digital zoom.

With Super Res Zoom, you would get more details if you pinched to zoom by 2x before taking a photo rather than digitally cropping the photo by 2x after taking it.

When Google finally made the jump to a telephoto lens with the Pixel 4 series, it used HDR Plus techniques on the telephoto lens to achieve even better results.

Google switched lanes more recently, adapting to the larger primary and telephoto sensors on the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro for its Super Res Zoom feature. For 2x zoom, Google crops into the inner portion of the 50MP primary sensor to produce 12.5MP photos. It then applies remosaicing algorithms and uses HDR Plus with bracketing to reduce noise.

For 5x zoom, Google uses a crop of the 48MP telephoto sensor and the same techniques. For zoom outside of 2x and 5x, Google uses Fusion Zoom, a machine-learning algorithm that merges images from multiple cameras into one.

Once again, you, as a user, do not have to worry about any of this. Just pinch to zoom in, click the shutter button, and let Google figure out the rest on their Camera app.

Here are some zoom samples from the Pixel 7 Pro:

Portrait Mode

Portrait Mode takes photos with a shallow depth of field, letting the subject pull all the attention to itself while the background remains blurred.

Smartphones usually use two cameras located next to each other to capture depth information (just like our eyes!). Without this depth information, the phone would have difficulty separating the subject from the background.

However, Google managed to do a good job with Portrait Mode on the Pixel 2, and it did it with just one camera on the front and back. The company used computational photography and machine learning to overcome hardware limitations.

Portrait mode on single-camera setups (like the front camera) starts with an HDR Plus image. The Camera app then uses machine learning to generate a segmentation mask that identifies common subjects like people and pets.

If depth information is available in some way (when you have multiple cameras available, such as on the back), it generates a depth map, which helps apply the blur accurately.

Real Tone

Real Tone is Google’s effort at making photography more inclusive for darker skin tones. It attempts to counter the skin tone bias that has long existed in photography, giving people of color a chance at being photographed more authentically.

As part of the Real Tone initiative efforts, Google has improved its face identification in low-light conditions. The AI and machine learning models that Google trains are now fed a wider, diversified data set. The company has also improved how white balance and automatic exposure work in photographs to accommodate a wider set of skin tones better.

Starting with the Pixel 7 series, the company also uses a new color scale (called the “Monk Skin Tone Scale”) that better reflects the full range of skin tones.

Dual Exposure controls and Color Temperature control

Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority

As mentioned earlier, the Google Camera app does not have a Pro mode. Very little thinking is involved in clicking a good photo on a Pixel smartphone.

If want some control over your photos, Google gives you three settings that you can play with:

  • Dual Exposure Controls:
    • Brightness: Changes the overall exposure. It can be used to recover more detail in bright skies or intentionally blow out the background if needed.
    • Shadows: Changes only the dark areas. It manipulates the tone mapping instead of the exposure. It is helpful for high-contrast scenes, letting users boost or reduce shadows.
  • Color temperature control: Changes the scene’s color temperature to make it warmer or cooler.

You can access all three sliders by long pressing on the viewfinder in Photo mode. These settings co-exist alongside HDR Plus, so you can still use computational photography features while slightly modifying specific settings to suit your taste better.

Computational RAW

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Google adopted “Computational RAW” with the Pixel 3, though the term doesn’t feature frequently in their marketing.

With the Google Camera app, you can save RAW image files (.dng) alongside processed image files (.jpg). RAW files traditionally allow you a wider range of adjustments for settings like exposure, highlights, shadows, and more.

But the trick here on the Google Camera app is that these RAW image files aren’t entirely raw and untouched. Google processes the RAW file through its computational photography pipeline before saving it.

RAW on Google Camera is Computational RAW.

This approach may alarm purists and hobbyists who want an untouched, unprocessed RAW file. But try as hard as you may; you will find it extremely difficult to get a better result processing your RAW file by yourself than compared to Google’s super-processed JPGs.

Computational RAW is the middle ground, applying some of the Google software magic and letting you apply some of your own on top. The results of this approach take advantage of Google’s processing expertise and your vision.

Macro Focus

Macro Focus is one feature that relies heavily on hardware. It uses the ultrawide lens on the Pixel 7 Pro that is equipped with autofocus, letting you focus as close as 3cm away. When you come close to a subject, the Pixel 7 Pro will transition from the main camera to the ultrawide and let you take a macro photo.

You can also take a macro focus video on the Pixel 7 Pro.

Motion Mode

Zak Khan / Android Authority

Motion Mode on Pixel smartphones adds a creative way to use long exposure shots. It essentially uses a longer exposure photo and adds a blur effect to the background and moving parts in the image.

Most newer Pixel phones have two blur effects: Action Pan and Long Exposure. Pixel 6a, Pixel 7a, and Pixel Fold users do not have the Action Pan effect.

Action Pan works best for moving subjects against a stationary background (where the background gets blurred), while Long Exposure is better for motion-based scenes (where the moving object is blurred).

Motion Photos

Google Camera has a Motion Photos feature, which records a short, silent video when capturing a photo. It adds life to a still image and captures candid moments before and after a shot. The same was implemented in iOS as Live Photo.

Motion Photos is different from Motion Mode. You can export Motion Photos as videos.

Top Shot

Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority

If there is one thing clear so far, the Google Camera app takes a lot of photos all the time, even when clicking one photo. You need to set Top Shot to Auto or On.

Top Shot lets you save alternative shots from a Motion Photo or video. The camera app takes a lot of photos before and after you tap the shutter button and then recommends a better-quality photo than the one you clicked, like one where all the people in the image are smiling well and not blinking.

Note that Top Shot is unavailable when you have enabled Flash, Night Sight, Selfie Illumination, or Social Media Depth features.

Frequent Faces

The Google Camera app saves data about the faces you photograph or record frequently if you turn on the Frequent Faces feature. The face data is saved on your Pixel smartphone and not sent to Google. When you turn off the feature, the data is deleted.

With Frequent Faces, the Google Camera app on Pixel 4 and later devices identifies and recommends better shots of faces you capture often. So you will get fewer blinking eyes and more smiling faces when using the Top Shot feature.

The feature also taps into the Real Tone feature, offering better auto-white balance for these recognized subjects.

Long Shot

Like other camera apps, the Google Camera app also lets you take videos in photo mode. Long-press the shutter button in photo mode and begin video recording.

Palm Timer

Google Camera includes a timer setting for three seconds and 10 seconds. When you activate these timer settings, you also activate the Palm Timer. Once you have framed yourself in the photo, raise your palm to face towards the camera, and the timer will begin counting down.

Guided Frame

Guided Frame is an accessibility feature on the Google Camera app designed for the visually impaired community. This feature uses Google’s TalkBack mode to audibly guide you through the framing and photo-clicking process for a selfie.

Panorama and Photo Sphere

The Google Camera app also includes Panorama and Photo Sphere modes. Panorama lets you stitch multiple images to create one long image. Photo Sphere enables you to stitch multiple images to create an “image sphere” that shows off all around you.

Google Camera: Video features

A substantial focus of the Google Camera app is photos, and the extensive feature list and improvements over the years are testimony of this attention. Videos are also crucial to the Google Camera experience, but it doesn’t receive the same love. As a result, Pixel phones with the Google Camera app can take excellent photos and good videos.

The Google Camera app can record video at up to 4K 60fps across all lenses, though this feature sees limitations depending on your Pixel phone. You can record with the h.264 (default) or the h.265 codec. You can also choose to record in 10-bit HDR.

There are a few stabilization options available within Google Camera:

  • Standard: Uses optical image stabilization (OIS, if present), electronic image stabilization (EIS), or both.
  • Locked: Uses EIS on the telephoto lens or 2x zoom if 2x telephoto is not present.
  • Active: Uses EIS on the wide-angle lens.
  • Cinematic Pan: For dramatic and smooth panning shots.

There is also a dedicated Cinematic video mode, which is like Portrait mode but for videos. Further, you also get the usual slow-motion and time-lapse video capabilities.

Google Camera: Availability

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

The Google Camera app is available on all Google Pixel devices. However, depending on their camera and processing hardware, the exact feature list varies between devices. You can get the most features on the newest flagship Pixel.

For devices other than Google Pixels, there are unofficial GCam ports. Third-party enthusiasts modify the Google Camera app and make it run on unsupported phones. They also tweak some of the myriad processing values to get subjectively different results that suit the hardware output from a certain class of phones.

While you can use GCam ports to get the Google Camera experience on your non-Pixel device, note that there will always be the risk of installing unknown APKs, and we recommend against that. Please be careful with what you install on your phone, and random APKs found on the internet should not be installed. Only install apps from official sources and developers that you trust.


FAQs

Yes, the Google Camera app is free as it comes pre-installed on Pixel smartphones.

The official Google Camera app comes pre-installed on Pixel smartphones. If your phone does not have the app pre-installed, you cannot officially install the Google Camera app. Instead, you can install unofficial Google Camera ports at your own risk.

TTartisan unleashes monster 500mm f/6.3 lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras


There is yet another new product announcement from TTArtisan, as they release details on a new TTArtisan 500mm F6.3 super-telephoto prime lens.

Set to become one of the best budget telephoto lenses of the year, the lens will be available for Sony E-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Canon RF-mount, and L-mount. The 500mm focal length is the first telephoto lens of this range that TTArtisan has released for full-frame mirrorless bodies and provides a budget-friendly alternative to the existing mirrorless telephoto market.

With a retail price of $369 / £409, this is a powerful lens that lowers the entry point and accessibility of super-telephoto photography. With a maximum aperture of f/6.3, it provides a relatively bright image compared with some budget rivals.

TTArtisan 500mm f/6.3

It is worth noting, however, that this lens is manual focus, therefore, not a lens designed for the tracking of fast-paced subjects. Instead where this lens may shine is with landscape, astrophotography, and slower-paced wildlife photography. The manual focus element may seem like the sacrifice for focal length and aperture, but this is not an issue for photographers pre-focusing on a subject such as a branch or a moon.

Stability is vital for a lens of this focal length and to aid in this department, a tripod mount ring is included. TTArtisan has seemed to miss an opportunity here however as the tripod mount ring is not Arca-Swiss compatible.

The 500mm f/6.3 Telephoto lens is optically structured from 8 elements in 5 groups – and uses a conventional, rather than mirror, design. Included in this configuration are 2 extra-low dispersion (ED) glass lenses and 2 high-index glass lenses, stated to reduce chromatic aberration and contribute to decent image quality.

Sony E-Mount users may experience some slight vignetting when used wide open, the official press release warns – but this said not to be an issue with  Z-, RF-, and L- mount versions of the lens.

TTArtisan 500mm f/6.3

There is a real focus on astrophotography with the promotion of this lens and it is easy to see why. The 500mm focal length pierces the night sky, enabling you to ‘capture distant worlds’ – and will be particularly useful for photographing the moon. The ED lenses will also control and diminish comatic aberration, a common concern in this field of photography. 

Other key features include a 3.3m minimum focus distance (10.8 feet), an 82mm front filter ring, and a 12-blade aperture diaphragm. It weighs around 1600g (57oz).

The TTArtisan 500mm f/6.3 lens is available now at the price of $369 / £409 (approximately AU$775), and is supplied with a metal lens hood and the tripod foot as standard.

Pixel 8 camera features leak with manual controls and lots of AI


The focus of Google’s Pixel phones has always been on the camera, and it seems there’s a lot of new stuff coming with the Pixel 8 series, as a new leaked ad reveals manual camera controls, new features, and a whole bunch of AI in the pipeline.

A leaked video posted to 91Mobiles by the reliable leaker Kamila Wojciechowska offers a pretty detailed breakdown of all of the new camera features coming to Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, including some returning favorites like Night Sight, Astrophotography, and Super Res Zoom.

What’s new this year, though, is actually quite a bit.

That starts with “Video Boost,” which Google says will use AI to create a “smoother view” as well as bringing Night Sight’s effects to video, as we had previously reported was coming. The video also gives us a first look at “Audio Eraser” – another feature that popped up previously – with a quick example of removing city noise from the background of a video of a cello player.

Perhaps the most wild use of AI in the video, though, is a Google Photos feature on Pixel 8 where the app will literally be able to change people’s faces in a shot to create the shot you want – the Michael Scott treatment, if you will. There’s no explanation on how this works, but it seems like it uses multiple, similar shots to create one final product. Again, it looks absolutely wild.

https://9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/09/google-pixel-8-ad-ai-faces.mp4

Perhaps most interesting for photo enthusiasts is the arrival of full manual controls on Google Pixel 8. These are called “Pro Controls” and are “modeled after DSLR controls.” We can’t see all of the options, but shutter speed and ISO both appear, as well as manual focus.

Then, there’s Magic Editor. Google first teased this at I/O as a feature that can help you move a subject or change the sky, and Google puts that on full view in this video. It looks great.

https://9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/09/pixel-8-magic-editor.mp4

The whole video (below) has a clear focus on AI, and it’s rather exciting to see so many new camera features in store.

But, beyond that, the leak also offers a full breakdown of the camera specs in place on the Pixel 8 series. Most notable here is that Pixel 8 Pro will add auto-focus to the selfie camera, which is a 10.5MP sensor. This is something Google offered in the past on the Pixel 3, but removed in subsequent releases. Pixel 8, though, apparently is fixed focus still despite having the same sensor.

The rest of the camera specs include 50MP primary sensors on both devices at f/1.68, a 1/1.31-inch sensor, and 1.2 μm pixel width. That seems to imply these will still be using the Samsung ISOCELL GN1 sensor, as the specs line up. Pixel 8 gets a 12MP ultrawide camera with auto-focus (something the regular Pixel 7 lacked), while Pixel 8 Pro is still gets a 48MP ultrawide and another 48MP telephoto camera at 5x.

Google is set to unveil Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on October 4.

https://www.91-cdn.com/hub/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/google-pixel-8-pro-promo-video.mp4?_=1

More on Pixel 8:

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Google Pixel 8 series camera features revealed in leaked video


Google Pixel 8 series camera features revealed in leaked video



Technology

September 23, 2023 | 07:53 pm
2 min read

The Pixel 8 series will be up for pre-orders in India starting October 5 (Photo credit: Google)

Google’s upcoming Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones have been the subject of numerous leaks ahead of their launch.

While we are familiar with every major highlight, a leaked promo video provided to 91mobiles by tipster Kamila Wojciechowska uncovers the new camera features of the Pixel 8 series.

These include Real Tone, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Super Res Zoom, Magic Editor, and more.

There will be some Pro controls for Pixel 8 Pro

The Pixel 8 series would come with several camera improvements. The promo video gives us a breakdown of the camera features, which allow users to fine-tune their photography settings.

The Real Tone feature will aim to improve the accuracy of skin tones in photos. Night Sight will help in low-light photography, whereas Astrophotography will help capture stars, nearby galaxies, and other space objects in the night sky.

The video also highlights some Pro controls exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro.

Take a look at the post

Super Res Zoom and Magic Editor to elevate camera capabilities

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will feature Super Res Zoom for high-quality zoomed-in shots. The Pixel 8 will offer up to 8x zoom, while the Pixel 8 Pro will provide up to 30x zoom.

Additionally, the Magic Editor feature will allow users to swap faces in an image.

For videos, the phones will come with Video Boost, Night Sight for low-light videos, Audio Magic Eraser to reduce ambient background sounds, and improved skin tones.


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Entries open for Indian astrophotography contest


The competition is aimed at promoting and showcasing the best of India’s fast-growing astroimaging community.

In space science, India is going from strength to strength, from the recent Moon landing of Chandrayaan-3 to the launch of the solar observing satellite Aditya-L1.

That growth also extends to the amateur community: In the past few years, the astroimaging scene in India has taken off — and the nation’s largest astrophotography contest reflects that. Entries are now open for the “Aperture: Indian Astrophotographer of the Year” (IAPY) contest, open to all Indian nationals.

The competition, now in its second year, is organized by Astronomads Bangla, a group of four astroimagers who met during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since hosted numerous workshops at dark-sky sites across India.

“Since the pandemic, India not only has seen a growth in quantity in the numbers of astrophotographers, but also in quality,” says group co-founder Soumyadeep Mukherjee. (Here at Astronomy, we can see that growth anecdotally, judging by the increase in submissions to our Reader Gallery inbox.) “Indian astrophotographers have been experimenting with all the different subgenres, especially in nightscape, deep-sky and planetary photography.”

All three genres are represented as categories in the IAPY contest. Submissions opened Sept. 15; within the first five days, the organizers received over 100 images, says Mukherjee. The contest is accepting entries through Oct. 22, with results to be announced Dec. 24.

The winners and shortlisted images will also be presented in an exhibition at the M. P. Birla Planetarium in Kolkata starting the first week of January 2024.

“This contest provides a platform to all the Indian astrophotographers, from vastly experienced people to the absolute newcomers,” says Mukerjee. “It is a platform to showcase their work to the world and in the process, inspiring people to take up this beautiful genre as a hobby. The contest is about making astrophotographers ‘think out of the box’ and supporting their talent.”

The contest is open to Indian nationals residing both in and outside of India, as well as Overseas Citizens of India (a form of permanent residency available to people of Indian origin).

For more information and details on how to submit images, go to: https://astronomadsbangla.com/competition And look out for an article by Mukerjee on astroimaging in India in an upcoming issue of Astronomy.

¿Cómo se formó la Luna?


La Luna, nuestro satélite natural. Orbita nuestro planeta a una distancia media de unos 384.000 kilómetros. La vemos casi todas las noches, a veces incluso de día aunque nunca igual debido a sus cambios de fase, tan familiar y sin embargo todavía tan desconocida que sigue sorprendiendo a cualquier persona que no la haya visto nunca a través de un telescopio.

Pero ¿Cómo se formó la Luna? La teoría más aceptada actualmente apunta a un gran impacto protoplanetario entre una jovencísima Tierra, cuya superficie estaba totalmente cubierta de magma, y otro objeto del sistema solar, un protoplaneta del tamaño de Marte llamado Theia, hace unos 4500 millones de años.

La observación astronómica nos puede dar algunas pistas de cómo se formó la Luna.

La colisión se produjo a unos 40.000 Km/h y fue descomunal, destruyendo completamente a Theia y arrojando parte del manto terrestre al espacio. Parte de ese material expulsado terminaría formando la Luna. La Tierra vio modificado su eje de inclinación y las fuerzas de marea empezaron a afectar a su velocidad de rotación produciendo días cada vez más largos, al mismo tiempo la Luna se alejaba de nosotros.

La Luna sufriría diferentes transformaciones hasta nuestros días. Grandes impactos de asteroides crearían importantes cuencas y sucesivos bombardeos de meteoros más pequeños habrían alcanzado la superficie de nuestro satélite, carente de atmósfera, modificando su geografía hasta convertirla en lo que hoy es.

¿Es la única teoría sobre la formación de la Luna?

Aunque la teoría del impacto es la más aceptada actualmente no significa que sepamos a ciencia cierta cómo se formó nuestro satélite y de hecho hay otras teorías que intentan explicarlo.

La teoría de impactos múltiples supone que la Luna en realidad se formó no por un solo impacto contra la Tierra sino por sucesivos impactos producidos por escombros cósmicos. Otras teorías comentan la posibilidad de que la Tierra tuviera en la antigüedad varios satélites u objetos atrapados en su órbita que poco a poco fueron fusionándose hasta formar un solo cuerpo.

Por otro lado la teoría de la captura explica que la Luna en realidad es un cuerpo celeste capturado por la gravedad terrestre

Actualmente hay gran interés por parte de las administraciones espaciales por la Luna y esto se demuestra en el incremento de misiones lunares. La fallida Luna 25 rusa o el éxito de la misión Chandrayaan-3 india son una muestra de lo que vendrá en los próximos años con la presencia de nuevo de humanos en su superficie con las misiones Artemisa (si China no se adelanta). Tal vez estas nuevas misiones nos ayuden a determinar de una vez por todas cómo se formó la Luna.

Astrophotography Cameras Market Size, Current Insights and Demographic Trends 2023-2030


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Commercia


The research delves into the countries section, encompassing selected market variables that play a crucial role in steering both present and forthcoming market advancements. This study encapsulates various regions worldwide, including the influential players of the United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. By exploring the market dynamics and trends across these diverse regions, a comprehensive understanding of the global market landscape emerges, enabling informed decision-making and strategic planning for businesses operating on a global scale.

This comprehensive report provides in-depth coverage of various crucial aspects including revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and latest trends. It offers invaluable insights into the future prospects of the market, enabling businesses to make informed decisions. With accurate revenue forecasts, companies can plan their investments and resources efficiently.

Why is the Astrophotography Cameras Market Report 2023 Significant?

The Astrophotography Cameras Market Report 2023 holds significant value in providing a comprehensive understanding of the global economic landscape. In a world constantly influenced by various factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and regional conflicts, this research report analyzes the market from 2018 to 2030, offering both quantitative and qualitative analysis. It goes beyond mere sales and revenue metrics, delving into segmented markets based on region, product type, and downstream industry. By examining key factors like macro-economy, industry news, and policies, the report becomes a vital tool for businesses and investors seeking to navigate the challenging waters of the Astrophotography Cameras market. Furthermore, it sheds light on technology advancements, supply chain challenges, and investment scenarios, allowing for well-informed decisions and efficient resource allocation. As the world’s economy continues to evolve, the Astrophotography Cameras Market Report remains an indispensable resource, providing a clear and distinct picture of market distribution and empowering readers to adapt in this ever-changing landscape.

Request a Sample Copy of the Astrophotography Cameras Market Report 2023 Here

Has there been any international intervention to address both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Astrophotography Cameras market is one of the many industries that has been impacted. The effects of the pandemic have been felt globally, with major market participants and downstream customers all feeling the squeeze. However, a new report sheds some light on what the future may hold for the Astrophotography Cameras market.

The report takes into account multiple factors, including changes in consumer behavior, demand, transport capacity, and trade flow under COVID-19. In addition, the research seeks to contextualize the effects of regional conflict on the market. The report provides valuable insights into the present and future state of the Astrophotography Cameras market.

One of the most notable aspects of the report is its analysis of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on the industry. The conflict has undoubtedly had an effect on the market, and the report delves into how this has played out. By providing a nuanced perspective on how the Astrophotography Cameras market has been influenced by both conflict and pandemic, the report provides valuable information to those who are looking to invest in the industry.

Despite the challenges that the Astrophotography Cameras market has faced, the report is optimistic about its future. It predicts that the market will evolve in the years to come, adapting to the new realities brought about by the pandemic and the conflict. By including an analysis of the impact of these events on the market, the report provides valuable insights into how the industry will evolve in the years to come.

In conclusion, the Astrophotography Cameras market has undoubtedly faced significant challenges in recent times. However, the report provides hope for the future, painting a picture of an industry that will adapt and evolve in response to changing circumstances. By shedding light on the impact of both pandemic and conflict, the report provides valuable insights for those who are looking to invest in the Astrophotography Cameras market.

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What questions does the Astrophotography Cameras Market Research/Analysis Report provide answers to?

What are the global trends in the Astrophotography Cameras market? Would the market witness an increase or decline in the demand in the coming years?


What is the estimated demand for different types of products in Astrophotography Cameras? What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for Astrophotography Cameras market?


What Are Projections of Global Astrophotography Cameras Industry Considering Capacity, Production and Production Value? What Will Be the Estimation of Cost and Profit? What Will Be Market Share, Supply and Consumption? What about Import and Export?


Where will the strategic developments take the industry in the mid to long-term?


What are the factors contributing to the final price of Astrophotography Cameras? What are the raw materials used for Astrophotography Cameras manufacturing?


How big is the opportunity for the Astrophotography Cameras market? How will the increasing adoption of Astrophotography Cameras for mining impact the growth rate of the overall market?


How much is the global Astrophotography Cameras market worth? What was the value of the market in 2023/2022/2021?


Who are the major players operating in the Astrophotography Cameras market? Which companies are the front runners?


Which are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams?


What Should Be Entry Strategies, Countermeasures to Economic Impact, and Marketing Channels for Astrophotography Cameras Industry?


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Detailed Table of Contents (TOC) of Global Astrophotography Cameras Market Research Report, 2023-2030:

With tables and figures to help analyze the global Astrophotography Cameras market trends, this study provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.

    Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview
    Industry Chain Analysis
    Industry Competitive Analysis
    Company Profiles
    Astrophotography Cameras Market – By Trade Statistics
    North America Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview Analysis
    Europe Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview Analysis
    Asia Pacific Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview Analysis
    Middle East and Africa Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview Analysis
    South America Astrophotography Cameras Market Overview Analysis
    Astrophotography Cameras Market – By Regions
    Astrophotography Cameras Market – By Types
    Astrophotography Cameras Market – By Applications
    Astrophotography Cameras Market Forecast – By Types and Applications
    Astrophotography Cameras Market Forecast – By Regions and Major Countries
    Research Methodology and Data Source

Get Detailed TOC of Global Astrophotography Cameras Market – https://www.precisionreports.co/TOC/20117363

What are the Drivers, Restraints, and Research Methodology used in this study?

The research report provides an analysis of the various factors driving the market’s growth. The factors that impede market growth are fundamental because they create different curves to seize opportunities in emerging markets. Data collection and analysis for the base year were carried out using a large sample data collection module. The main research methodologies are data mining, data triangulation, including analysis of the impact of variable data on the market, and initial validation (industry experts). Separately, the data model includes a supplier positioning grid, market timeline analysis, market overview and leadership, company positioning grid, company market share analysis, metrics, top-down analysis, and supplier engagement analysis.

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To view the original version on The Express Wire visit Astrophotography Cameras Market Size, Current Insights and Demographic Trends 2023-2030

COMTEX_440298428/2598/2023-09-15T18:48:53

Why You Should Be on AstroBin


AstroBin is an incredible resource for astrophotographers, and I’m still convinced there are a few people who have still not joined the fun.

Whether you use the website for file storage, planning your next project, or connecting with others about specific questions, AstroBin is an amateur astrophotographer’s dream. 

While it began as an image-hosting website exclusively for astrophotography, it has since become much more. It is the ultimate (searchable) database of images and astrophotography equipment

Two of this website’s most popular sections are its advanced search and the exciting image of the day. The forum is also very active and full of practical information. 

AstroBin Key Features

  • Image Hosting and Sharing of Your Photos
  • Advanced Image Search (Target, Gear, Awards, etc.)
  • Advanced Platesolver (Astrometry)
  • Image Processing Feedback
  • Asking/Answering Questions in the Forum
  • Planning Astrophotography Projects
  • Researching Astrophotography Gear

As you can see, there is a lot to do on AstroBin. One of my favorite things to do is search for my next astrophotography target and sort the images by Award, and Image of the Day.

Talk about inspiration! Not only will you get an idea of what’s possible, but you can also review the equipment and integration time needed for these shots. 

Each member has their own profile page, complete with interesting stats like ‘average integration time‘. Mine is currently 4.4 hours in case you’re wondering!

My AstroBin profile page

The statistics displayed on AstroBin, whether it’s total integration time or the number of ‘top picks’ you’ve received, gamifys the astrophotography experience. And to me, that makes it a lot more fun. 

For example, I’d love to bump my average integration time up to a respectable 10 hours. Setting little goals like this is a great way to enjoy the hobby on a deeper level. 

What is AstroBin?

AstroBin was started by Salvatore Iovene with the goal of helping astrophotographers share their photos and learn from each other. 

It is used by astrophotographers of all disciplines, from multi-night narrowband deep-sky projects to high frame rate planetary imaging

At the core of AstroBin’s usefulness is the metadata associated with each uploaded image. Most images will include extensive acquisition details including exposure lengths and the moon phase of when the image was taken. 

Seeing this level of information behind an image is very helpful when planning your next astrophotography project. 

I mainly use AstroBin for research, planning, and inspiration, while others use it as a social platform to stay connected with their friends.

No matter what your interests are, if you are an astrophotographer, you will love AstroBin. 

The Global Stream includes every new image uploaded to AstroBin. 

Why I Use AstroBin

I currently subscribe to the AstroBin Premium Plan to take advantage of the additional file storage (unlimited images), and the removal of ads on the site.

To be honest, I also just want to support AstroBin to help ensure that it sticks around for a long time. I know how much work goes into building an astrophotography resource that benefits the community.

The ‘Big Wall‘ is where you will see all of the latest images uploaded to AstroBin. Not only is this a great way to see some of the astrophotography targets that are currently available in the night sky, but it is a great source of inspiration.

The bottom line is, if you are struggling to come up with an idea for your next astrophotography project, AstroBin is one of the best places to go. 

The absolute best, highest quality deep-sky astrophotos on the internet live on AstroBin. You will find that most serious astrophotographers have an account there. 

Large, High-Quality Images

One of my favorite things about AstroBin is that the astrophotos uploaded are absolutely massive. This allows you to zoom in and inspect others’ data in a way that you just can’t do on social media platforms.

The images are also plate-solved, revealing all of the interesting deep-sky objects in the field that you may have not even known about. 

The max file size for an image upload on the premium plan is 50MB, while the Ultimate plan allows you to upload an enormous 200 MB image. 

Review and Critique Image Processing

I recently uploaded my latest image of the Lion Nebula (Sharpless) 132, and received some helpful feedback on my image processing style. I only upload my highest-quality images to AstroBin. 

It was also a great way to contribute to the astrophotography community by sharing sample images taken using a new telescope that people are interested in (William Optic GT81 WIFD).

Because there is such a broad group of astrophotographers around the world, the feedback is often mixed and very helpful. 

Equipment Research

Let’s say you are considering purchasing a new telescope for astrophotography, but you would like to see example images taken with it. No problem.

You can perform a search in AstroBin that isolates images by the telescope used. For example, you can filter the image results by “William Optics RedCat 51” and only see images taken using that telescope. 

The camera, telescope, filters, etc. used for each image are outlined in the technical card underneath the image. You can also use the equipment explorer for a deep dive on specific types of gear. 

The Technical Card

When you find an image that you appreciate and may want to try photographing yourself, you should bookmark it. 

You can then go back to your bookmarked images and review the complete technical card for the image.

This will show you everything from the dates the image was taken, to the exposure lengths through each filter. 

Forums and Support

The forum on AstroBin is very active, will new questions being asked and answered each day. You can search for specific terms to narrow down your question. 

If you are having a specific issue with your telescope, or need advice on a particular project, chances are there has been a discussion about the topic in the past. 

You can browse the latest topics, or even subscribe to a specific topic to stay on top of things. 

Astrophotographers List

If you want to talk about bragging rights, the astrophotographers list is the place to go. It presents you with a complete list of members on the website, along with an exciting ‘scoring’ system.

Here, you can see which astrophotographer has the most overall integration, the most likes, and even, the most images of the day!

Plate Solving

AstroBin interfaces with Astrometry.net and PixInsight to provide plate-solving overlays and precise astrometry data on your images. 

This helps you identify deep-sky objects in your images, including nebulae, galaxies, stars, planets, and more. 

A plate-solved overlay on an image in AstroBin.

The Power of AstroBin

Fellow astrophotographer and friend Nico Carver published an insightful video about the power of AstroBin. 

This is a great watch for anyone looking for an overview of AstroBins features, and some clever ways to really utilize this resource.

He discusses a few clever ways to maximize your experience on this website, including the advanced platesolver and groups. 

Nico Carver’s AstroBin recommendations. 

Until watching this video, I didn’t even realize that AstroBin had a ‘browse by constellation’ feature. This is a useful companion for your favorite astronomy app

Final Thoughts

If you are an amateur astrophotographer and you haven’t explored AstroBin yet, I would highly recommend creating a free account.

You can start by uploading a few of your best images, and see what it’s like to go through the process of entering the acquisition details of your image.

Before you publish your image to the public, you can leave your image in the staging area to make sure everything in the technical card is filled out and accurate. 

I find that the image hosting aspect of AstroBin is worth the price of a paid plan alone. It is a safe place to store your high-resolution images, and all of the key metadata is included with it. 

I’ve been a member of AstroBin since 2016, and I can only hope that this incredible astrophotography resource continues to flourish for the foreseeable future. 

Helpful Resources:

 

Top 5 winners of the 2023 astronomy photo of the year contest


The winners of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s 15th year of astronomy photography have been announced, and the images are nothing short of incredible.

VIEW GALLERY – 7 IMAGES

The world’s largest astrophotography contest consists of more than 4,000 separate submissions from 64 different countries, with each of the submissions going into a selection of different categories. The winners of 2023 were announced via a shortlist that was published in July, and now we able to see all of the notable submissions. The contest features 11 categories and below you will find winners for; Overall Winner, Auroras, Our Moon, Our Sun, and Stars & Nebulas.

The first image below is the winning photograph of 2023’s astrophotography contest, and it showcases the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. The image titled “Andromed, unexpected” was snapped by an amateur astronomer team led by Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty. Notably, the plasma streak on the left-hand side of the image was a unique discovery, with researchers now studying it as its believed it could be largest discovered streak of its kind.

Overall Winner/Galaxies

Image credit: Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty

Our Moon

Image credit: Ethan Chappel

Our Sun

Image credit: Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau

Auroras

Image credit: Monika Devia

Stars & Nebulas

Image Credit: Marcel Drechsler

‘Grand cosmic fireworks’: See the stunning winners of the 2023 astronomy photo of the year contest


The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the winners of the astronomy photographer of the Year 15, during an award ceremony held Sept. 14.

This was the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s 15th year holding the contest, which garnered more than 4,000 submissions from 64 different countries for 2023. A shortlist of winning submissions was released in July, and many of those spectacular images have made a reappearance.

As the world’s largest astrophotography competition, Royal Observatory Greenwich divides winners into 11 categories, and from those chooses an overall winner.

This year’s top spot came from the galaxies category, and was awarded to Marcel Drechsler, from Germany, and French photographers Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty, with their photo of the Andromeda galaxy.

Galaxies and overall winner

“Andromeda, unexpected,” the winning photo for Royal Observatory Greenwich’s astronomy photographer of the year 15. (Image credit: Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty)

This winning photo of the Andromeda galaxy from the amateur astronomer team led by Drechsler, Strottner and Sainty is titled “Andromeda, unexpected,” for the large, blue plasma arc pictured next to our nearest galactic neighbor.

The plasma streak was, in fact, a discovery all on its own, according to a release from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and is now being studied by scientists as possibly the largest phenomenon of its type in our little corner of the universe.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for the galaxies category went to Weitang Liang, from China, and Paul Montague, from Australia, for their respective photos, “The Eyes Galaxies” and “Neighbors.”

Runner-up and highly commended entries for galaxies, “The Eyes Galaxies” and “Neighbours.” (Image credit: Weitang Liang (left image) and Paul Montague (right image))

Auroras


“Brushstroke,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s aurorae category.
(Image credit: Monika Devia)

Monika Deviat, from Canada, wins this years best aurora photograph with her image, “Brushstroke.” The singularity of this one aurora, according to the competition’s judges, set it aside from the usual “earthly perspective,” they said, “evoking the arts of brush-painting and calligraphy.”

Aurorae runner-up and highly commended recognitions were awarded to Andreas Ettl, from Germany, and Chester Hall-Fernandez, from New Zealand, with their photos “Circle of light” and “Fire on the horizon,” respectively.

Aurorae runner-up and highly commended photos, “Circle of light and fire on the horizon.” (Image credit: Andreas Ettl (left image) and Chester Hall-Fernandez (right image))

Our moon

“Mars-set,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s our moon category. (Image credit: Ethan Chappel)

Ethan Chappel shot this photo of Mars and the moon during the Dec. 8 occultation in 2022, from Cibolo, Texas. “Mars-set” shows the red planet setting behind the moon’s southern hemisphere, shining bright during the rare alignment.

Tom Williams, from the UK, and Miguel Claro, from Portugal, won runner-up and highly commended marks for their submissions, “Sundown on the terminator” and “Last full moon of the year featuring a colourful corona during a close encounter with Mars,” respectively.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for our moon, “Sundown on the terminator” and “Last full moon of the year featuring a colourful corona during a close encounter with Mars.” (Image credit: Tom Williams (left image) and Miguel Claro (right image))

Our sun

“A sun question,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s our sun category. (Image credit: Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau)

“A sun question” was taken by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau for the our sun category winner. The image features a large question mark-shaped solar filament rising from the sun’s surface, and shows our star in incredible detail.

Our sun runner-up and highly commended awards went to Peter Ward for his photo, “Dark star,” and Mehmet Ergün for “The great solar flare.”

Runner-up and highly commended entries for our sun, “Dark star” and “The great solar flare.” (Image credit: Peter Ward (left image) and Mehmet Ergün (right image))

People & space

“Zeila,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s people & space category. (Image credit: Vikas Chander)

This photo from Vikas Chander was taken on the Skeleten Coast, on the Atlantic Ocean. Located on one of Namibia’s northernmost coastal regions, the Skeleton Coast has earned a reputation for its treacherous waters.

“Zeila,” the name of this photograph, is also the name of the boat pictured. The vessel was stranded in 2008, and sits foreground to a 30-minute exposure of the rolling fog, with stars streaking in the grey night sky overhead.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for people & space were awarded to Andrew McCarthy, for his photo of the International Space Station (ISS) transiting the moon, “A visit to Tycho,” and to Katie McGuniness for her out-of-this-world star-trail photograph, “Close enounters of the Haslingden kind.”

Runner-up and highly commended entries for people & space, “A visit to Tycho” and “Close enounters of The Haslingden kind.” (Image credit: Andrew McCarthy (left image) and Katie McGuinness (right image))

Planets, comets & asteroids

“Suspended in a sunbeam,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s planets, comets & asteroids category. (Image credit: Tom Williams)

“Suspended in a sunbeam” is a false color image of the planet Venus, from photographer Tom Williams, winning in the category of planets, comets & asteroids. Using infrared, Williams was able to highlight details Venus’ upper atmosphere, revealing far more than can be seen with the naked eye.

Runner-up and highly commended recognitions went photos of Jupiter and Uranus and its moons, from photographers Marco Lorenzi and Martin Lewis, respectively.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for planets, comets & asteroids, “Jupiter close to opposition” and “Uranus with Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, Oberon and Titania.” (Image credit: Marco Lorenzi (left image) and Martin Lewis (right image))

Skyscapes

“Grand cosmic fireworks,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s skyscapes category. (Image credit: Angel An)

The extremely rare phenomena captured in this photograph from Angel An are called sprites. Sprites occur like lightning, high in Earth’s atmosphere, and are seldom witnessed from the ground. Astronauts aboard the ISS have been known to take photographs of sprites from time to time. An took this photo, “Grand cosmic fireworks,” from the highest ridge of the Himalaya mountains.

Louis Leroux-Gere and Peter Hoszang were awarded runner-up and highly commended for their respective photos of star trails over the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, in France, and noctilucent clouds over Hungary.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for “Skyscapes, celestial equator above first world war trench memorial” and “Noctilucent night.” (Image credit: Louis Leroux-Gere (left image) and Peter Hoszang (right image))

Stars & nebulas

New Class of “Galactic nebulae around the star YY Kya,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s stars & nebulas category. (Image credit: Marcel Drechsler)

The shining star inside the red, gaseous nebula was photographed by Marcel Drechsler and a team of amateur astronomers. In fact, the shining light at the gas’ center is actually a pair of binary stars, enveloped in the previously undiscovered nebula.

Runner-up and highly commended awards were given to Anthony Quintile and James Baguley, for both of their stunning nebula photos.

Runner-up and highly commended entries for stars & nebulas, “LDN 1448 et al.” and “The dark wolf.” (Image credit: Anthony Quintile (left image) and James Baguley (right image))

The Sir Patrick Moore prize for best newcomer

“Sh2-132: Blinded by the light,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Sir Patrick Moore Prize for best newcomer category. (Image credit: Aaron Wilhelm)

“Blinded by the light” is Royal Observatory Greenwich’s winning photograph for best newcomer, photographed by Aaron Wilhelm. The vibrant image shows the Sh2-132 complex near the constellations Cepheus and Lacerta, and was created using 70 hours of data to merge together the magnificent and colorful gaseous layers.

Young astronomy photographer of the year

“The Running Chicken Nebula,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Sir Patrick Moore prize for young astronomy photographer of the year category. (Image credit: Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang)

Runwei Xu and Binyu Want win young astronomy photographers of the year with “The Running Chicken Nebula,” a hypnotic blend of swirling cosmic colors from the Running Chicken Nebula, IC2944. The young photographers captured this image using a 1,900 mm Newtonian telescope, over 5.5 hours of exposure.

Annie Maunder prize for image innovation

“Black echo,” the winning photo in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Annie Maunder Prize for image innovation category. (Image credit: John White)

Finally, John White won for the innovation category, with his photo, “Black echo.” Using audio of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Perseus Galaxy, captured by NASA’s Chandra Sonification Project, White shot the vibrations of water in a petri dish as they fluctuated above the speaker’s soundwaves.

All the winning photographs, the runners-up, highly commended and more are currently part of an exhibit at the National Maritime Museum, in Greenwich, London.

This edited article is republished from Space.com under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.