To learn what motivates one to point their lens up, we contacted Alexander Curry. He is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the co-founder of Telescope Live, an online platform that provides access to a network of telescopes around the world, enabling enthusiasts, researchers, and educators to explore the night sky.
"I think, like most people, I became interested in astronomy as a child—my father had bought a small SCT telescope as we were both interested in space, and we spent time familiarizing ourselves with the go-to navigation and visual astronomy," the astrophotographer told Bored Panda.
"I think through natural progression once I was a teenager and wanted to experiment more with photography & astronomy, I bought a cheap adapter to mount my DSLR to the back of the telescope and take images of Jupiter, Saturn, and the Orion Nebula (all of the brightest targets in the night sky!), and once I was over the hurdle of being able to get clear images of these targets I was hooked even further and began to read & watch tutorials on how to better process using simple actions in Photoshop, etc."
However, it's difficult to say with certainty whether it's the gear or skills that are responsible for good results.
"This question is a 50/50, as anyone can produce great results with very basic equipment (for example, I recently went on holiday and took some great nebula pictures with just a DSLR and without a tracking mount), however, I think people who are new to astrophotography should learn to understand the limits of their equipment and how it properly functions," the astronomer explained.
"This way, they are not frustrated if they can’t produce the image they wanted the first time around."
According to Curry, "astrophotography takes a lot of practice and trial and error to find what works well for the software you are using and the equipment that you have."
But that's the beauty of it. "I don’t think there is any single astrophotographer who isn't always learning something new as this hobby changes over time with new software, techniques, and developments in equipment. Creating a great image of any deep space object requires the perfect balance of equipment control and post-processing skills," he added.
Chris Barnes is an academic psychologist at the University of Derby in the UK studying nature connectedness — the links humans feel to nature — and how that may benefit us.
With a passionate interest in astronomy and the night sky, Dr. Barnes wondered whether the connection felt by some people to nature in the day would also exist for the night.
However, when reviewing the existing scientific literature left him unsatisfied, he set out to do some research himself.
"I'd discovered that there was very little in terms of the research that was talking about people's connection to the natural world at night," he said last month.
"Whether that be the night sky and what it has to offer, but also the impact that light pollution has upon people's connection to the night sky."
So Dr. Barnes set out to develop a measure that could quantify how connected we feel to the night sky, aptly named the Night Sky Connectedness Index.
It's a 12-item test, with each one being a statement such as "I find beauty in the night sky" or "I feel at home under the night sky".
People respond with how much they agree or disagree and are scored based on their answers.
The lowest score is zero, meaning no connection to the night sky, and the highest is 120, which signifies a very strong connection.
Dr. Barnes tested this measure of night sky connectedness on more than 400 people, and he also gave them tests rigorously developed in previous studies to measure their levels of happiness, resilience, and mental well-being.
Those who reported a stronger connection to the night sky scored better on mental health and happiness scales too.
The findings were published earlier this year, and Dr. Barnes suggests that the connection may stem from the mindfulness people experience while stargazing—the chance to be fully present and embrace the awe that washes over us when we look at the night sky.
Time spent under the stars may have physiological effects similar to spending time in nature during the day, including decreases in blood pressure, reported stress, and cortisol levels, Dr. Barnes said.
"So we really enter this state of physiological relaxation which is good for us. The more we do those kind of things, the more likely we are to see these wellbeing benefits."