360 Degree Full-Sphere Astrophotos

• Print
• Email

Apr 07

2016

by project nightflight

Recently a new camera hit the market that will set off a small revolution in astronomy and astrophotography. The Ricoh Theta S is an innovative panorama camera that records a 360 degree full-sphere panorama with only one single shot. We tested the Theta S for astronomical usage and it turned out quite well.

With the sample image above we captured the atmosphere of an observing session at a wind farm near Vienna on April 2, 2016. Just click the image to start the player. View the sphere full screen, pan around, zoom in and out, let it autorotate...

What's more, the full-sphere camera can be used to survey observing sites very efficiently. We used it to make a light pollution survey at the endpoint of the Grossmugl Star Walk installation in Austria. This and other night sky panoramas can be explored on our website: http://www.project-nightflight.net/tests.html?29

The bottom line is, the Theta S is a wonderful new tool for imaging the night sky. Whether you want to shoot fun pictures at a star party, record an observing event or capture extended celestial scenes, the little cam is a great gadget. On our website we provide a more comprehensive article on how to use the Theta S for night sky photography. It is available as a PDF file for free download, the direct link is: http://www.project-nightflight.net/ricoh_theta_s_in_astronomy_and_astrophotography.pdf