I did some astronomy projects back in school and was really amazed by how much more a camera is able to see than the human eye. Even a basic point-and-shoot camera mounted in front of the eyepiece of a telescope can take some pretty amazing shots. I just wish I had more time for hobbies like this!
So here is a picture of Betelgeuse I took last night. The image of Betelgeuse is not amazing. What's really amazing is the field of stars behind it. When I looked through the telescope with my eye I could see Betelgeuse and maybe a hint of one or two other stars. But when I "developed" the digital picture by increasing the brightness and contrast, hundreds of other stars came into view.
Now, this is only one picture from one night. Another really amazing thing to do is take the same picture night after night and make a flip book out of them. You can watch darkness fall on the moon or a planet make its way across the background stars. This is also how some near-earth objects are found.
(click on the picture to open the full-size version)
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