I usually like to wait until I’ve got a new astrophotography image to share before I make a post, but today I just felt like sharing some thoughts about where I am at with this blog. Astrobackyard.com is still in it’s early stages, but I have had quite a few vistors as of late and…
Astrophotography Video Tutorial In my first ever astrophotography video tutorial, I take a crack at the Rosette Nebula using data collected in February 2014. I have plans of shooting a video about light frame acquisition in the future, but this one is about what happens after you have already captured your data. This astrophotography video tutorial may be…
I woke up at 5:30 am this morning to attempt to photograph the 5 visible planets at dawn. This astronomical event is rather rare, and will only be possible for about 2 more weeks. Seeing the 5 brightest planets simultaneously has not been possible since 2005! The first week of February is the absolute best…
What is Astrobackyard.com? This astrophotography blog creates an outlet for me to share images, information and tips about my favourite hobby. I received lots of help when I began this hobby in 2011, and it’s my turn to pay-it-forward to the next wave of astrophotographers. I have watched the hobby grow in the short years that I…
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of my fellow astronomy nerds out there! 2015 was an amazing year for me and my family with the purchase of a new home and the addition of a new four-legged friend named Rudolph. Next year will be even better as I continue advancing my…
Located below Orion’s Belt, the Orion Nebula is now gracing our skies each night The skies were clear in Niagara last weekend, so I set up my telescope for a night of astrophotography imaging. There are so many great imaging options at this time of year. The Pleiades, the Pacman Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, the…
This video may change the way your shoot and process astro-images forever. It covers the few simple steps needed to create an ultra high-resolution master frame with a high signal-to-noise ratio. This tutorial covers the capturing, processing and production of gorgeous wide-field astrophotography images using a camera lens or small telescope. If you are…
M27 – The Dumbbell Nebula The Dumbbell Nebula is well photographed by professional and amateur night sky photographers alike. It was one of the first deep-sky objects I imaged way back in 2011. A member of the astronomy forum I was a part of suggested that I give it a try, as it is a…
The Triangulum Galaxy The M33 Galaxy is the third-largest galaxy in the local-group of galaxies, behind the Milky Way and Andromeda. Its large size from our vantage point makes my wide-field astrophotography 80mm telescope a great choice for imaging this target. Despite it’s size, the Triangulum Galaxy appears much dimmer than M31 – The Andromeda…
The Sadr Region in the Cygnus refers to the hydrogen emission nebula surrounding Sadr (Gamma Cygni) in the cross of the constellation Cygnus. In this area of the night sky, you will also find even more deep-sky astrophotography targets such as the Butterfly Nebula (IC 1318), and the Crescent Nebula. Sadr (a supergiant) has 12…
Photographing the Sadr Star in Cygnus If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I was poking around in the middle of the constellation Cygnus last weekend, specifically centered on to the extremely bright Sadr star. I really wanted to post a really snazzy wide field photo of this region on this…
2015 Perseid Meteor Shower Above photo taken August 13th, 2015 – 12:22am I was not able to travel to a pretty location to shoot the Perseids last night, so I just set up shop in the backyard! I planted my Canon 7D firmly on my tripod and aimed above my house towards the constellation Perseus,…