The Cherry Springs Star Party has become an increasingly popular destination for stargazers along the east coast, for good reason. Now that the word is out about the pristine skies of Cherry Springs, the event sells out quicker every year. It is held at a state park between Coudersport and Galeton in Potter County, Pennsylvania…
The Texas Star Party is held annually at Prude Ranch in the Davis Mountains during the new moon in May. The 3,500-acre ranch sits at 5,000 feet elevation and is located six miles northwest of Fort Davis, and only 12 miles (19 km) from the McDonald Observatory. It started in 1979 as a weekend event…
You have completed the research and purchased your first telescope and now you’re wondering how to use this new piece of astronomy equipment. You’re ready to look at the moon and planets up close for the first time, and can’t wait to show your friends and family the Rings of Saturn. As a beginner, you…
In this beginner-friendly image processing tutorial, we will use Adobe Photoshop to take an astrophotography image from its raw state to a finished master file for sharing. The post-processing stage of astrophotography is an exciting experience because it is when you finally get to enjoy the deep-sky object you have captured, up-close. This is a…
The Blue Horsehead Nebula (IC 4592) is a photogenic reflection nebula in the constellation Scorpius. In the northern hemisphere, it is a summer astrophotography target that lies close to the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. After many years of admiring gorgeous images of this deep-sky target, I finally photographed the Blue Horsehead Nebula myself in the…
You’ve taken your first 5-minute long exposure with your new astrophotography camera. You open it in Photoshop to see what you captured and you see a black image with a few dots. Does this sound familiar? This article is for the beginners out there, who are severely underwhelmed when that first sub-exposure of a galaxy…
The Lyrids meteor shower, which peaks in late April, is one of the oldest known meteor showers. According to NASA, the Lyrids have been observed for 2,700 years, with the first recorded sighting as far back as 687 BC. What is a Meteor Shower? Meteor showers, such as the Lyrids, are leftover particles (debris and…
A galaxy is a collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. There are several different types of galaxies, including spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, irregular galaxies, and lenticular galaxies, which are often classified based on their appearance, The largest galaxies (i.e. supergiants) are thought to contain up to one hundred trillion…
If you are just getting into astrophotography, there is a good chance you have already taken some decent photos of the night sky using a basic camera and lens. A DSLR or mirrorless camera and tripod are all you night to start photographing the stars and constellations, or even the Milky Way. These types of…
You have likely heard about the “green comet” that’s all over the news. It is known as Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF, and it is currently visible in the night sky. This particular comet only comes around approximately every 50,000 years, so I set up my camera and telescope to photograph it while it is still…
If you’re getting started in astrophotography, I am here to save you some time and frustration by learning from the mistakes of myself and others. Whether you’re looking into a full-blown deep-sky camera and telescope setup, or just getting started with a DSLR and tripod, I think this article will come in handy. The following…
It will come as no surprise to you just how much the weather impacts astronomy. There are so many external factors at play and sometimes, a clear sky forecast is not enough. Much like cloud cover, seeing conditions can derail your imaging session, leading to less than ideal conditions. As ground-based observers and imagers, we…