NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Don Pettit will discuss astrophotography online later today and take questions from viewers. Dominick will present from space, as the astronaut is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), adding a layer of intrigue to the class.
Dominick recently used moonlight and off-camera flash to capture an incredible self-portrait inside the ISS, and Pettit is a legendary astronaut and photographer, fairly described as the best photographer ever to visit space. There aren’t two better candidates to team up to host an X Space from space about photography in space. It’s a lot of space.
An X Space… from space?!@DominickMatthew joins us from the @Space_Station to talk with @Astro_Pettit about astrophotography in low Earth orbit. We’re taking your questions—join us Wednesday, July 24 at 4:05pm ET! https://t.co/6Ii2Au1Iv8
— NASA (@NASA) July 22, 2024
The astrophotography chat begins on NASA’s X page at 4:05 PM ET (1:05 PM PT), and the astronauts will primarily focus on how they capture space images within low Earth orbit.
Pettit, who is a seasoned photographer, both on Earth and in space, has previously chatted with PetaPixel about some of the challenges facing astrophotographers in space, including the surprisingly harsh environment aboard the ISS.
Star trail from @Space_Station, with ghostly blue outline of a solar panel.
Multiple atmospheric layers are visible due to solar driven excitation of atomic oxygen (green) and hydroxyl (-OH) radicals (orange-pink). The star trails become curved near the horizon due to the… pic.twitter.com/F9HUVcEf9e
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) July 19, 2024
“Our cameras in space get sensor damage from galactic cosmic rays and after about six months we replace all the cameras but you still have cameras with significant cosmic ray damage,” Pettit explained last year. Pettit will be returning to the ISS this September, nearly 30 years after his first spaceflight.
As for Dominick, one of 12 people currently in space, he has been busy capturing amazing photos on the ISS.
Looking aft from the cupola towards Soyuz over Southeast Asia at night. A sun about to rise from behind the camera (forward of space station) provides the light blue light to illuminate Soyuz.
1/4s, 6400 ISO, 28mm, f1.4, de-noised, dark frame subtracted pic.twitter.com/qaEYqjxsuq
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) July 19, 2024
He and Pettit have also bonded over their shared love of astrophotography. Dominick says that shortly after he had officially been selected to be an astronaut, he was assigned Pettit as his mentor.
A quick behind the scenes look at how we setup portraits of ourselves peering out of a Dragon window into the stars from Starliner’s cockpit window. pic.twitter.com/3Kek11PTFv
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) July 23, 2024
“We became fast friends over our hobbies including photography,” Dominick says. “Don taught me a lot about taking images in space before I launched.”
Both Pettit and Dominick have a lot to offer photographers, so enthusiastic astrophotographers should tune in later today — and arrive armed with questions. There aren’t many opportunities to pick the brains of astrophotographers, let alone ones who have shot in space.
Image credits: Featured image by Don Pettit (left) and Matthew Dominick (right).
