The Herschel Museum of Astronomy has launched a new exhibition, Capturing the Cosmos: Astrophotography by the Bath Astronomers, featuring the incredible nightscape, planetar, and deep sky photography of the local amateur astronomy community in and around Bath.
The exhibition invites visitors to delve into the exciting world of astrophotography, explore the basic techniques and marvel at the celestial imagery. Images were captured using smartphones, digital cameras and planetary cameras, all by amateur astronomers.
The exhibition will allow visitors to compare drawings William Herschel and his son, John, made of observations from their telescope, to photographs of the same celestial objects taken today. This series of digital reproductions of historic drawings, kindly provided by the Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society, demonstrates the contrast between how observations would have been recorded over 200 years ago and how we capture them now.
The museum also has a programme of stargazing events planned throughout the year where visitors can get tips on taking their own photos of the night sky from the Bath Astronomers themselves.
Patrizia Ribul, Director of Museums at Bath Preservation Trust, explained, “When selecting images for this exhibition, our curatorial team decided to spotlight a range of types of astrophotography, with stunning views of the Milky Way and Aurora Borealis, close-ups of the celestial objects in our Solar System and spectacular imagery of deep space.
“With its breathtaking visuals and strong links to local heritage, we hope that this new exhibition will encourage even more people in Bath and beyond to ‘capture the cosmos’.”
Izzy Wall, Curator, added, “William and Caroline Herschel scanned the skies using handmade telescopes from this building over 200 years ago. The only way for astronomers to visually record their findings – or ‘capture the cosmos’ – in the late 1700s was to draw what they saw through their telescopes. William discovered the planet Uranus and Caroline discovered eight comets in her lifetime, but they wouldn’t have been able to imagine the vivid detail and colour in these images, captured through today’s technology.”
‘Capturing the Cosmos: Astrophotography by the Bath Astronomers’ will run until Sunday 4th January 2026. Access to the exhibition is included with museum entry, which costs £12.50 for adults and is free of charge for children.
