Have you ever walked around your neighborhood at night and noticed the amount of wasted, and oftentimes unnecessary, artificial light? I think we have all noticed the poorly designed outdoor lighting in our neighborhoods that contributes to light pollution. According to the DarkSky International (IDA), light pollution is increasing at two times the rate of…
Have you ever looked at a brightly lit building or street light in your neighborhood and thought it was excessive? You know, light shining in all directions or perhaps in your bedroom window, rather than only lighting up the intended area. That is light pollution. Light pollution is misdirected excess/obtrusive outdoor artificial light in a…
If you shoot your astrophotography images with a color camera in the city, there is a good chance that light pollution filters can make your life a little easier. How? By ignoring specific wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum associated with artificial light sources such as a street lamp. The best way to test…
If you’ve been following AstroBackyard on YouTube, you’ll know that I regularly shoot DSLR astrophotography images under the heavily light-polluted skies at home. My night sky is classified as Bortle Class 8 in terms of sky quality, a white zone on the light pollution map. This certainly makes things more difficult in terms of collecting data…
One of the most common questions I receive each day is which light pollution filter I recommend for astrophotography in the city. There have never been so many choices available, with each one offering their own advantages and disadvantages. Couple that with the fact that these astrophotography filters can be expensive, and you’ve got some…
As an amateur astrophotographer or astronomer, there is a good chance you first started exploring the night sky in your backyard. The backyard is where I spend the most time under the stars, and my first experiences exploring the night sky with a telescope happened there. Your backyard may not be the ideal place for…
Twilight refers to the period of time when the sun is below the horizon where scattered sunlight illuminates the atmosphere. The lower the sunlight is below the horizon, the darker the twilight will be. Astronomical twilight is the darkest of the three twilight phases. It is also the last phase of twilight during sunset and…
In this section of the website, I will feature an astrophotography setup with a complete breakdown of each component. These equipment profiles will include all items needed for deep-sky astrophotography including the tracking mount, imaging telescope, camera, and filters. You’ll be able to see the exact camera settings I use, and any additional accessories needed…
Backyard Astrophotography Summer would not be complete without spending a night enjoying the dazzling beauty that is the constellation Sagittarius. The “teapot” asterism just clears my fence to the south of my backyard in central St. Catharines. From my latitude, August is my last chance to image the many star clusters and nebulae that populate…
Let’s be honest, when you’re starting something new there is always loads of new terminology to learn. The hobby of astrophotography is no different and it can be especially difficult if you also happen to be new to photography. To help you with this new territory and to accelerate your learning, we have put together…
In late 2023, William Optics announced the Pleiades 68 Astrograph. A compact, 7-element astrograph design featuring Super 3 ED lenses and FPL-53 glass. The biggest selling features of the William Optics Pleiades 68 Astrograph are its fast focal ratio of f/3.8 and innovative WIFD focuser design. I had the pleasure of testing one of the…
If you are like me, you spend most of your time photographing deep-sky objects from your backyard. While I love a good dark sky trip, the backyard is where the majority of my astrophotography projects take place. The backyard is a convenient option for an impulsive night of astrophotography, but what are we missing out…