Astronomy

Seeing

Atmospheric turbulence affecting image sharpness

Definition

Seeing refers to the blurring and distortion of astronomical objects caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere. Good seeing (low turbulence) allows sharp images, while poor seeing causes stars to twinkle and planets to shimmer. Seeing is measured in arcseconds - 1" is excellent, 5" is poor. The Pickering scale (1-10) is also commonly used.

Related Terms

Stacking

Combining multiple frames into a single high-quality image

Lucky Imaging

Selecting only the sharpest frames from a video

Arcsecond

Angular measurement unit (1/3600 of a degree)

See It In Action

Learn how Seeing is used in planetary imaging with our step-by-step guides:

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