Astrophotography 101: Intro to Astrophotography with a Tracker

Name: Astrophotography 101: Intro to Astrophotography with a Tracker
Start: 2026-03-26T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-03-26T22:00:00-07:00
Location: 10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA, United States, California 94619

Schedule

Thu Mar 26 2026 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA, United States, California 94619 | Oakland, CA

$75, $60 for Members
Want to learn to start taking pictures of the Milky Way or even a faint nebula in the night sky? Ever wanted to learn how the amazing images from James Webb or Hubble telescopes are made? Whether you have specific questions about your own astrophotography process or are completely new to night photography – this workshop will provide one-on-one training to help you in your night sky photography journey!
In this workshop, we will focus specifically on using a sky tracker to capture a variety of night sky photos. A sky tracker is a specialty device astrophotographers use to keep the night sky in focus while taking long exposure photos. It is a lower cost item in comparison to larger astronomy mounts and a perfect place to start your astrophotography journey, (especially if you already own a camera with an interchangeable lens). With different types of sky trackers provided, we will walk you through different techniques of capturing the night sky outside on our Observation Deck. Then we will work with specific software to process a finished photo. Feel free to bring your own equipment or images to process.
You will also be trained on how to operate astronomy gear that you can rent through the East Bay Astronomical Society’s Loaner Scope Program all while gaining introductory knowledge on how to get started capturing your own images of the night sky.
This workshop is part of a 3-part series of introductory astrophotography 101 workshops that can be taken together or independently. Workshops will have a combination of classroom time and time outside taking pictures of the night sky. All equipment and laptops are provided.
Taking this workshop supports Chabot and our mission to make STEM accessible for all. Proceeds go towards developing new exhibits, GE program, preservation of historic telescopes, and so much more!