While I was visiting my folks the past few weeks, I enjoyed a few clear nights to see and take photos of stars and planets with my Panasonic G85 mirrorless camera. They live in the middle of no where with very little light pollution from their closest neighbors, which permits spectacular views of the night sky.
In the image above, you can see Cepheus above my parent’s house, half of Lacerta in the upper left, and Ursa Minor peaking out from the tree line on the lower right.
How I Took the Photos
I didn’t have a tripod with me, so I used a towel folded in different configurations as a support for the camera. I unfolded the back display so that it was both easy to view and provided further support for the camera to hold its position when aimed in different directions. I rested the camera on a tractor for the shot above that shows my folks’ house, but some of the others below, I placed the camera on the ground or the brick pilasters along the edge of the porches surrounding the house.
The camera that I used was a Panasonic G85 with a stock 12-60mm telephoto lens. I shot in manual mode setting maximum aperture and multi-second exposure times. I also used manual focus and the 10 second shutter delay to avoid any residual camera shake from pressing the shutter release button.
Pleiades
In the center, upper third of the photo above, you can see the Seven Sisters or Pleiades.
Orion
In the center of the photo above, you can see Orion (his belt is formed by the three vertical, evenly spaced stars, and his shoulders are to the left and his legs to the right).
Auriga, Taurus, and Orion
In this image, I was able to capture Auriga (upper left), Taurus (middle top), and Orion (middle below).
Jupiter and Its Moons
For this shot of Jupiter, I extended the telephoto lens to 60mm, which reduced the aperture by several stops compared to its 12mm wide angle. I laid the camera on the ground shooting almost vertical. With the telephoto extended, it was difficult to find Jupiter–the slightest camera movement sent it shooting out of view. I took several photos and this one was the sharpest with Jupiter being the brightest object near the center.
When you see the photo at 100%, Jupiter and some of its moons are visible like a mini-solar system.
If I had easier access to clear night skies with good seeing, it would be nice to have a star tracking tripod to have longer exposures.
