Meaning & use
astrophotography
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The activity or skill of taking photographs of stars, planets, and other objects in the night sky.
Grammar: No plural and no article in general use: 'She enjoys astrophotography.'
Patterns
- astrophotography of something
- do astrophotography
- a form of astrophotography
He spends clear winter nights doing astrophotography from his backyard.
Good astrophotography needs a camera that can stay open for many seconds.
Her book explains astrophotography for people with ordinary cameras.
noununcountabletechnical
Photographs of the night sky or of objects in space, considered as a set of images.
Grammar: Refers to the pictures themselves, not to the hobby; still uncountable.
Patterns
- publish astrophotography
- share astrophotography online
The magazine printed his astrophotography of the Orion Nebula.
Their website collects astrophotography sent in by readers around the world.
Common combinations
- deep-sky astrophotography
- Deep-sky astrophotography captures galaxies that are too faint for the eye to see.
- long-exposure astrophotography
- Long-exposure astrophotography makes star trails appear as bright arcs.
- a tracking mount
- A tracking mount slowly turns the camera to match the Earth's rotation.
- light pollution
- Light pollution from nearby towns ruins astrophotography.
- take a photo of the night sky
- He took a photo of the night sky with a simple tripod and a timer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- astroimaging
- A more technical term used by specialists for the same activity, especially in professional or research settings.
- night-sky photography
- A plain everyday phrase that means roughly the same thing but does not suggest any technical equipment.
Word family
- astrophotographer noun
- A person who takes photographs of objects in space.
- astronomy noun
- The scientific study of objects and events beyond the Earth.
- photography noun
- The general activity of taking pictures with a camera.
Commonly confused: astrophotography or astrology? astrophotography or astronautics?
astrophotography vs astrology
Astrology is the belief that stars and planets influence people's lives; astrophotography is only about taking pictures of them.
astrophotography vs astronautics
Astronautics is the science of building and flying spacecraft, not of photographing the sky.
Practice
Which sentence uses astrophotography correctly?
Choose one answer.
Astrophotography is an uncountable noun naming an activity, so it fits after 'interested in'. Option 1 treats it as a countable object, option 3 gives it a plural, and option 4 uses it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “astrophotography”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.