NASA'S ASTROPHOTO CHALLENGE
About this Project
Try your hand at processing images from NASA's space telescopes, or capture and process your own!
Ever wanted to manipulate images taken by powerful telescopes yourself? NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge invites you to try out your image-processing skills: You may use the raw data from a space-based telescope or capture new telescope data (that night!) with the MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network. Next, you’ll use the JS9-4L tool to process the image. You’ll start with a grayscale image, just as NASA imaging specialists would, and then toggle the images from each telescope filter, trying to highlight the stars, gas, and dust clearly. Not sure how to start? We have resources to help you learn how to adjust scale, brightness and contrast, and then combine images from different filters to create full-color images. The final step? Submit your entry for review by professional astronomers. A few weeks after each contest ends, the top entries are posted to the NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge website. Below, you will find all the details to participate in an upcoming challenge or process images at your own pace, any time.
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How to Participate
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NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge
Select a NASA image, a MicroObservatory image, or any combination you want and process it with the JS9-4L tool. Compare your image to the one NASA released – and visit after the challenge ends to compare your submission to the standout entries.
Even if there isn’t an active challenge, you can still work with NASA data from past challenges!
Use the JS9-4L tool to process your own image today.
Frequently Asked Questions
NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge Frequently Asked Questions
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Anyone!
You just need an email address to receive any images you take with the MicroObservatory robotic telescopes.
If you are 12 or younger, you will need to have your parent/guardian do this activity with you.
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Find detailed instructions on for the NASA’ Astrophoto Challenge on the MicroObservatory website.
Are you new to MicroObservatory? Check out all the tutorials available on the Tools & Training page.
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You will need a Google email to submit your images to enter the NASA's Astrophoto Challenge.
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The MicroObservatory Team and NASA's Universe of Learning will review all of the submissions, and highlight entries that demonstrate compelling and creative image-processing techniques.
Standout entries will be recognized on the Standout Entries page. Every standout entry will receive expert feedback from NASA scientists!
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You can still work with NASA data from past Challenges! Head to the Challenges Archive of JS9-4L, where you will find NASA image files among the Archived Images for all of the past seasons.
Want to see what others have done with image data? Check out highlighted entries from past Challenges on the Standout Entries page.
Experience NASA Data
NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge help participants experience the universe for themselves! Along the way, they may experience the excitement of NASA astrophysics, understand science concepts, and observe and make sense of the universe.
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Observe
Capture your own images using MicroObservatory.
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Build Scientific Practices
Create your own composite image with an astronomer’s image processing tool.
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Compare and Contrast
Compare your image with processed images from NASA’s telescopes on AstroPix.
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Explore More with NASA Data
Use your image processing skills and NASA data to create your own versions of NASA images.
Learn from the Experts
Expert astronomers take a close look at the Phantom Galaxy to explore what this object is, where you can find it, and what different wavelengths reveal. Meet the experts working with NASA’s Astrophoto Challenges.
Past Standout Entries
Want to see what others have done? Check out standout entries from past challenges!
Past Competitions can be found in our resource catalog.