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…
What is ISO, and how does it affect your astrophotography images? It’s one of the first astrophotography camera settings newcomers to the hobby ask me about. Does it really increase the camera’s sensitivity to light at the expense of introducing more noise? Is it better to shoot more short exposures using a high ISO than…
I’ve taken some amazing astrophotos this year, and I want to share the exact equipment I used in my approach and even some processing tips. After all – I know you’re super pumped about the images I take – right? But in reality, if I can’t provide useful information about how you can do it…
Astrophotography is about more than just the pictures you take, it’s about an overall positive experience along the way. I don’t like seeing people quit because they’re frustrated and confused. It doesn’t have to be that way. When starting out, I think it’s important to choose a setup that is easy to use, and not…
There are so many astrophotography accessories available today to complement your deep-sky or wide-field astrophotography setup. It can be overwhelming to narrow down the ones that will enhance your imaging experience since you usually don’t find out you need the accessory until after a few imaging sessions. Some of the most essential astrophotography accessories include…
The moon goes through a cycle of phases each month which changes our view of the moon based on its position in relation to the Earth and the Sun. The moon phase shows the illuminated portion of the moon that is being lit by the Sun. There are a total of eight moon phases: New…
I’ll get straight to the point. I’m going to walk you through how I took a detailed picture of the planet Jupiter through my telescope. Compared to photographing deep-sky objects, like galaxies and nebulae like I normally do, photographing planets is a breath of fresh air. I am not a planetary imaging expert by any…
Taking impressive deep-sky astrophotography images is not reserved for those using an astronomical telescope. A budget camera lens can be used to take images of some of the best deep-sky objects in the night sky. A telephoto zoom lens can provide enough magnification to pull distant objects in space in for a closer look, but…
My latest photo of the Andromeda Galaxy is my best effort yet. I have been taking deep-sky astrophotography images for over 10 years now, and this might be my favorite photo of space I’ve ever taken. This detailed image was captured using a small refractor telescope, with a mirrorless camera attached. The image reveals the…
IC 1284 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. This deep-sky object lies very close to the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24) along the plane of the Milky Way. In the northern hemisphere, the best time to see and photograph IC 1284 is in the summer from the months of June-September. Although this…
The Little Dipper is a pattern of stars found in the Ursa Minor constellation (i.e. Little Bear). Similar to the Big Dipper, the handle forms the tail of the little bear, while the bowl forms the bear’s flake/hindquarters. The Little Dipper is an asterism and is not considered a formal constellation. The Little Dipper contains…
In this post, I will share the techniques and equipment I used to take a picture of the stunning Sunflower Galaxy. With the world largely shut down for me, deep-space astrophotography in the backyard has been a welcome escape. Cataloged as Messier 63, this stunning galaxy is about 25 million light-years away from Earth in…