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We are often asked how we fly with our astronomy gear when we travel to new locations for astrophotography. While traveling to a dark-sky site with our telescopes is exciting, it also involves a lot of planning. Traveling with any photography equipment can be challenging, but there are some added considerations when flying with items…
I recently photographed a galaxy in the night sky with my telescope, using a new approach I have never tried before. The technique is not new, but it is something I’ve never actually tried on a galaxy before. Not only did it produce one of my favorite images I have ever captured, it revealed a…
Buying astrophotography gear on Amazon can be risky, especially if you are purchasing large items like computerized telescopes. The expertise and support just isn’t there. In fact, I don’t recommend purchasing your telescope on Amazon, no matter how good the Black Friday deal is. Instead, consider purchasing it from an actual telescope dealer who will…
A great astrophotography image is very subjective. What some people would consider to be the ‘perfect’ image, is a complete mess to others. While there are some core aesthetics that I think most people can agree on (nobody likes a noisy image), other aspects have vastly different opinions depending on who you ask. If…
AstroBin is an incredible resource for astrophotographers, and I’m still convinced there are a few people who have still not joined the fun. It’s an image-hosting platform and social network for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers that includes groups, forums, and an advanced search. Whether you use the website for file storage, planning your next project,…
Are you looking to build a full-featured (GoTo, autoguiding, etc.) portable astrophotography rig for this summer? If so, I think I have found the perfect “template” to follow (with plenty of room for substitutions, of course). The major difference between this setup and the portable rigs I’ve shared on this site before is that this one…
In this post, I’ll walk you through my process of photographing a jaw-dropping nebula in the night sky known as Thor’s Helmet. As usual, there were a number of challenges in my way, but it wouldn’t be astrophotography without a little stress now would it? I am using an imaging setup that I have used…
In this article, I’ll explain why I built a backyard observatory, and how the entire project took shape this spring. Officially named “Black Dog Observatory” this structure will become the epicenter of my astrophotography operations in the backyard. Below, is a photo of me standing in my new SkySked POD XL5 observatory. I expect many…
On this website, I do my best to share information and astrophotography tips that provide value. I could pat myself on the back about all of the great astrophotography images I took this year, but it is of little interest to anyone if I don’t explain how I took the shot. In this article, I’ll…
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…
In this post, I’ll share my 10 best astrophotography images of the year, and the complete list of gear used to take them. I completed roughly 40 projects this year, and it was difficult to choose my favorite 10 images from the bunch. The selection process involved remembering why each photo was so special. Why…
As usual, I only scratched the surface of what NEAF has to offer. I attend the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) as an amateur astrophotography enthusiast looking to get an up close look at the latest and greatest gear, but NEAF is a lot more than just vendor and exhibitors booths. NEAF has been hosted by…