Using a Sigma 24mm F/1.4 for Astrophotography
The Sigma 24mm F/1.4 lens is an interesting choice for astrophotography, particularly wide-angle Milky Way photography. With an f-ratio of F/1.4, this Sigma art series lens can pull in a lot of light under a dark night sky. Over the years I have used a number of great camera lenses for astrophotography from the Rokinon 135mm F/2, to the Canon EF 300mm F/4L. The Sigma 24mm F/1.4 is perhaps the most impressive lens for astrophotography overall, rarely due to its incredibly fast aperture. I've used the lens on my Canon DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, and have found it to be one of the mo…
Radian Raptor 61 Review
The Radian Raptor 61 is a triplet apochromatic refractor telescope for astrophotography. It features a compact design with features custom-suited for wide-field, deep-sky astrophotography. Since the Raptor arrived in September, I have taken some of my best astrophotography images to date with it. In this review, I'll share all of the image examples I have collected since the prototype arrived at my door. This compact telescope was designed for astrophotography with a camera attached, not visual observations through an eyepiece. If you're interested in taking pictures of deep-sky ob…
The Stunning Double Cluster in Perseus
The Double Cluster in Perseus The Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC 869 and NGC 884) are two open clusters in the constellation Perseus. Also named Caldwell 14 or simply "The Double Cluster", both star clusters are very similar to each other in size, magnitude, and age. This pair of open clusters lie about 7,000 light-years away from Earth. They are an easy binocular target, and an impressive sight through a small telescope. The magnitude 3.7-3.8 star clusters are bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye under the right conditions. Each of the clusters contains more than 300 blue/whi…
Photographing the Lobster Claw Nebula
The Lobster Claw Nebula (Sharpless 157) is a bright emission nebula. It lies near the edge of the northern constellation Cassiopeia, bordering on Cepheus. As you'll soon see in my long-exposure image, this bright HII region is surrounded by many more interesting deep-sky objects. It sits very close in the sky to another popular emission nebula for amateur astrophotography, the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). Although I have photographed the Bubble Nebula several times, it wasn't until this year that I focused my attention on the neighboring Lobster Claw Nebula. The Location of the Lobste…
Mars Opposition 2020: Best Time to See the Red Planet
You may have started to notice a bright "star" in the night sky in the east. Today, my sister asked me "what is that bright red star I see every night? Is it a planet? It sure is, it's the red planet Mars. The reason it is so bright is that is nearing its closest approach to Earth, or, opposition. In the video below, I photograph the planet Mars using an 11" telescope from my backyard: For the next few weeks, Mars will get bigger and brighter, making this an ideal time to take a series of photos over many nights to record the changes. It will remain visible for the next 12+ month…
