If you want to start taking incredible photos of the night sky, I highly recommend investing in a small star tracker. You can attach your existing camera and lens to a star tracker to take amazing photos of large nebulae and galaxies. Over the years, I have used many different star trackers, but the Sky-Watcher…
I recently ran an impromptu astrophotography image processing challenge, and the results were out of this world (sorry, I had to do it). The craziest thing about it is that the data wasn’t overly great (in terms of overall exposure time) or interesting. Just a seemingly random portion of the constellation Cygnus that includes the…
This guide covers some of the best deep-sky astrophotography targets by season in the northern hemisphere. From bright nebulae and galaxies to beautiful star clusters, you’ll find targets that are perfect for beginners and seasoned imagers alike. Knowing what targets are available to you throughout the year makes planning your nights under the stars way…
While I have several videos discussing the topic of deep-sky astrophotography on my YouTube channel, I realized it was time for a thorough walkthrough of my entire current process (as of 2023) for capturing deep-sky images with a camera and telescope. This article aims to accomplish that goal by providing a step-by-step roadmap to follow to get your…
Astrophotography is all about capturing the beauty of the night sky, but choosing the right location is just as important as your gear. So, how do you find the best places to shoot the stars when you don’t have the benefit of living under dark skies? Here’s everything you need to know to choose the…
The term light pollution is more widely recognized these days. More people are starting to realize that lighting up the night isn’t always a good thing — but that hasn’t exactly slowed us down. We’re still filling the night sky with more and more artificial light every year. For many, it remains an issue that’s…
If you’re in the market for a high-performance astrograph with full-frame capabilities and a premium build, the Askar SQA106 is definitely worth a closer look. This impressive quintuplet refractor delivers a 509mm focal length at f/4.8 and is designed to produce flat, color-accurate images without the need for additional flatteners or backfocus tinkering. In this…
I recently assembled a budget astrophotography rig to capture deep-sky objects in my backyard. While I knew this system would be very capable, I was astonished by the quality of the pictures I took with it. Astrophotography (and photography in general) can be an expensive hobby with high-end equipment often costing thousands of dollars. While…
Choosing the right computer for image processing can save you a lot of headaches when you’re trying to process those jaw-dropping images of the night sky. Applications like Adobe Photoshop and PixInsight can really push a computer to its limits when processing astrophotography images, so what kind of specs do you need? Here’s a breakdown…
In the astrophotography realm, Galaxy Season refers to the period in Spring when the night sky offers up a buffet of incredible galaxies to observe and photograph. From early March until mid-May, the window of opportunity for night-sky enthusiasts to photograph a wide variety of galaxies is at its best. I don’t know about you,…
I recently tested the William Optics RedCat 91 APO refractor. This is the fourth RedCat I’ve used in the RedCat series—five if you count the two versions of the RedCat 51 (version 1 and version 3). With a healthy aperture, fast optics, and a super flat Peztval design, the William Optics RedCat 91 has a…
This article was last updated on February 25, 2025. The ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono is the much-anticipated monochrome version of ZWO’s popular ZWO ASI2600MC Pro dedicated astronomy camera. It houses a 26-megapixel Sony IMX571 back-illuminated sensor and some seriously impressive specs. This camera uses a highly sensitive, cooled, monochrome CMOS sensor in the APS-C format. Its…