How do we get such detailed pictures of planets and space?

Question

I know we get them through massive telescopes…. But how do they capture images so far away? How do they work?

In: 3

Answer 1

So you can search this sub for “how do cameras work” for more detail, but you need the TL;DR: that photography is literally “capturing light”. And the more massive your… light capture device, the more light you’re going to capture. So being a “massive telescope” _really_ helps.

You know how you see [long exposure](https://www.google.com/search?q=long+exposure) images? That’s a camera keeping the shutter open and absorbing more light as it streaks by.

These massive telescopes can keep the “shutter” open for ages, and can move around so they’re pointing at the same patch of sky. That way get sharp images rather than streaks.

There’s also no atmosphere in space to distort things.

Finally, a _lot_ of post-processing happens after images are taken.

**EDIT** to add that for planets in the solar system, we actually send spaceships over to take up-close pictures.