Space question

[Paul]

Alright this may be a really stupid question but here goes.

I have been wondering forever why it is that whenever you see a picture from the space station or one of the ones from the moon you never seem to see any stars - I never seem to anyway. It seems that the spacefield would be totally ablaze with the cosmos but it always looks pitch black. Why?

[MTGuru]

I assume it's because the subject matter is always something extremely bright in the foreground - the ISS, the earth, the moonscape, etc. - and no atmosphere to diffuse the light. Which requires effectively a very short exposure or a very small f-stop. I'll wager if you point the camera out at space with a wide open lens and/or longer exposure, you get plenty o' stars like a Texas sky.

[hans]

Orion and Sirius from the ISS:


http://astrowright.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... ing-stars/