Why do most photos of galaxies/stars say it took X amount of hours to capture? Can a single photo not be taken?
In: Physics
It can absolutely be a single photo. The time frame is the exposure time, not the time spent snapping individual photos.
A camera is seeing light. The more lights, the shorter the exposure time (or the time the aperture of the camera needs to be open). This is actually the basis for shutter sound you hear. The less light available, like trying to capture stars on a dark night, the longer it needs to be open. Stars are tiny, pinpoint sources of light, so you need to wait a long time for enough light to hit the camera to pick it up properly.
Sometimes that’s hours of waiting. Which is why you can see blur effects with some photos – because the earth rotates enough to matter during the exposure time.
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