Ever seen an image of the night sky and couldn’t take your eyes off it? If so, you have observed the hard work of a talented astrophotographer
Astrophotography deals with imagery of astronomical objects and is very popular among astronomy enthusiasts.
Pakistan is home to many such talented astrophotographers and here are all the details you need to know about them.
Astrophotographers in Pakistan
Below are 8 Astrophotographers in Pakistan that are paving the way for astrophotography in the country.
a. Abubakr Sheikhani
b. Dr. Farrukh Shahzad
c. Mian Mateen
d. Muhammad Ali
e. Roshaan Nadeem
f. Shoaib Usman Banday
g. Talha Zia
h. Umair Asim
Now let’s talk about each of the above astrophotographers and their incredible photos.
a. Abubakr Sheikhani
Abubakr Sheikhani is a space enthusiast and graduate of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology. He is one of the founders of the Karachi Astronomers Society and has been working as a dedicated astrophotographer for a long time.
The image offers a stunning view of the Hyades Star Cluster. The Green object seen in the image is a comet passing by the cluster.
This image shows the winter arm of the Milky Way over a hotel near the Naran Valley. The image takes us into another realm with billions of dazzling stars.
Abubakr Sheikhani Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abubakershekhani
b. Dr. Farrukh Shahzad
Dr. Farrukh Shahzad, a medical doctor by profession, is a self-learned astrophotographer, and the founder and current vice-president of Pak Astronomers Islamabad (PAS – ISB).
He lives in Islamabad and his passion to reach for the stars has led him to organize multiple astronomy activities at universities like NUST, AIR, and IST.
In the above image, Dr. Farrukh Shahzad has captured the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) which is a supernova remnant. It is located in the constellation Gemini about 5000 light-years from Earth (4.7304e+16km).
In this image, he has captured the Sombrero Galaxy (M104 or NGC 4594). It is located in the constellation borders of Corvus and Virgo, 31 million light-years (2.93282645e+20km) from the Milky Way (our galaxy).
Farrukh Shahzad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/226482604469/user/1079391370/
c. Mian Mateen
Mian Mateen is a space enthusiast and a self-taught astrophotographer. His images have been featured in magazines like Scientia Pakistan and by astronomy societies including Lahore Astronomical Society.
The first image is of the moon in a thin crescent phase. The picture was taken on the first day of Ramadan, 2022.
The above image is of the moon which was photobombed by a PIA plane. The timing and creativity of the photographer are surely visible in this once-in-a-lifetime pic.
Mian Mateen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mian.mateen.779
d. Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is a prominent name in the astrophotography community in Pakistan. He is a member of the Lahore Astronomical Society and has made us feel a bit closer to the cosmos with his marvelous images.
The above image shows us our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda. The galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away (2.3651826e+19km) from our home galaxy, the Milky Way.
The 2nd image gives us a view of the Blue Horsehead Nebula (IC 4592) in the Scorpius constellation. It is located at a distance of 420 light-years (3.974e+15km) away from our galaxy.
Muhammad Ali Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muhammad.ali.52643
e. Roshaan Nadeem
Roshaan Nadeem is an emerging and super talented astrophotographer from Lahore. He has gained international recognition for his breathtaking moon shots.
Astrophotography
The first image shows the different stages of the “Annular Eclipse” over Lahore. This image has been featured in Forbes and has won the second position for the title “Astronomy Photographer of the Year”, a People’s Choice Award, 2020.
Roshaan Nadeem Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roshaans_astrophotography/
f. Shoaib Usman Banday
Shoaib Usman Banday is an auditor by profession but a die-hard astronomy fan at heart. He has given us spectacular images of the cosmos and is a rare gem in our country.
Astrophotography
The above image captures the Heart Nebula and the colors just add to the beauty of the image.
In this image, we can see the Rosette Nebula in the “Ha filter”. The image was taken over Lahore and beautifully captures the birthplace of stars.
Shoaib Usman Banday Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/subanday/
g. Talha Zia
Talha Zia is a Research Astronomer at Computational Astrophysics & Space Science Lab. He works in the fields of Cloud Computing, Image Processing, Machine Learning & AI in Astronomy, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Remote Sensing & GIS.
Astrophotography
The first image has been featured as the Astronomy Picture of the Day by NASA. The image of the craters and the shadows of the moon gives us a closer look into the tiny world next to us.
The 2nd image encompasses Jupiter (one of the 8 planets in the Solar System). The red spot as seen in the image is an anticyclonic storm system that is so big that 2 Earths can fit in it.
Talha Zia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talha_moon_zia/?hl=en
h. Umair Asim
Umair Asim lives in Lahore and is a graduate of the James Cook University, in Astronomy. He is the president and one of the founding members of Lahore Astronomical Society and Eden Astronomical Observatory which contains a 14-inch telescope among others.
His images have been internationally recognized and one of his lunar shots has made it to the Lunar Photo of the Day website.
The above image depicts the hanging prominence on the chromosphere of the Sun! It’s hard to take your eyes off the image. This incredible photograph has been captured from a Hydrogen-Alpha Telescope.
This image shows the M 51 galaxy in infrared. The image was taken by Umair from the Eden Astronomical Observatory located in Lahore.
Umair Asim Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/u_m_a_i_r_a_s_i_m/
The Sky is the Limit for Pakistan
In this article, we talked about 8 astrophotographers in Pakistan. We discussed their work and got to know them a little better.
From the moon to distant galaxies, these superheroes have given us a look into the far reaches of space. While awareness regarding astronomy is minimal in the country, we can now hope for a much better future for astronomy, astrophysics, and astrophotography in Pakistan!
