Amateur astrophotographers capture images of celestial objects using modified consumer cameras and telescopes. They take multiple long exposure photos and combine them to gather enough light to produce clearer images than what the naked eye can see. In contrast, professional telescopes in space like Hubble are able to take high-resolution single images without needing editing since they avoid distortions from the Earth's atmosphere. While amateur photos show objects as lighter blobs, professional photos provide much sharper panoramic views with greater detail.