Astrophotography A Beginner’s Guide By James Seaman Copyright © James Seaman 2018 Contents Astrophotography ................................................................................................................................... 5 Equipment ........................................................................................................................................... 6 DSLR Cameras ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Sensors ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Focal Length .................................................................................................................................... 8 Exposure .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Aperture ........................................................................................................................................ 10 ISO ................................................................................................................................................. 11 White Balance ............................................................................................................................... 12 File Formats ................................................................................................................................... 13 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Additional Camera Equipment .......................................................................................................... 15 T Rings ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Remote Shutter ............................................................................................................................. 16 Battery Packs ................................................................................................................................. 17 Mounts .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Tracking ......................................................................................................................................... 19 Guiding .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Go To ............................................................................................................................................. 20 Software Tools .................................................................................................................................. 21 Stacking ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Telescopes ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Types of Telescope ........................................................................................................................ 29 Eyepieces....................................................................................................................................... 30 Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (DEC) ................................................................................. 31 Altitude (also called elevation) and Azimuth ................................................................................ 32 Meridian ........................................................................................................................................ 32 Setting up your mount .................................................................................................................. 33 Balancing the Mount ..................................................................................................................... 35 Balancing in RA .............................................................................................................................. 35 Balancing in DEC ............................................................................................................................ 37 Aligning Finder Scopes .................................................................................................................. 40 Polar alignment ............................................................................................................................. 41 Declination Drift Alignment .......................................................................................................... 44 Slewing the telescope ................................................................................................................... 45 Focussing ....................................................................................................................................... 46 Dew heaters .................................................................................................................................. 47 Power ............................................................................................................................................ 48 Recommendation .......................................................................................................................... 49 Taking Pictures .................................................................................................................................. 50 Piers................................................................................................................................................... 52 Constructing a DIY Pier ..................................................................................................................... 52 Targets .............................................................................................................................................. 58 The Moon ...................................................................................................................................... 60 Orion (M42) ................................................................................................................................... 63 The Milky Way ............................................................................................................................... 71 Pleiades (M45) .............................................................................................................................. 73 Andromeda (M31 and M32) ......................................................................................................... 76 Iridium Flares and Shooting Stars ................................................................................................. 79 Aeroplanes .................................................................................................................................... 80 Comets .......................................................................................................................................... 81 The Flame Nebula (NGC2024) and Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) ........................................... 82 The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) ........................................................................................................ 84 The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) ......................................................................................................... 87 The Leo Triplet (M65, M66 and NGC 3628) .................................................................................. 90 The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) ......................................................................................................... 92 Messier 105 ................................................................................................................................... 94 The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) ......................................................................................................... 95 The Ring Nebula (M57) ................................................................................................................. 97 Messier 52 (M52) and The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) ................................................................ 99 Messier 33 (M33), The Triangulum Galaxy ................................................................................. 103 Messier 95 (M95) and Messier 96 (M96) .................................................................................... 105 Messier 1 (M1) the Crab Nebula ................................................................................................. 107 Messier 108 (M108) and Messier M97 (M97, the Owl Nebula) ................................................. 109 Messier 102 (M102) .................................................................................................................... 111 Messier 81 Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and Messier 82 the Cigar Galaxy (M82) ................................. 112 Jupiter – Planetary Astrophotography ........................................................................................ 114 Auto