Astrophotography

Today's photographic equipment allows amateurs to take pictures of the stars that far surpass images taken just a few decades ago by the largest observatories—and this book will teach you how. Author and world-renowned astrophotographer Thierry Legault teaches the art and techniques of astrophotography—from simple camera-on-tripod night-scene imaging of constellations, star trails, eclipses, artificial satellites, and polar auroras to more intensive astrophotography using specialized equipment for lunar, planetary, solar, and deep-sky imaging.

Legault shares advice about equipment and guides you through techniques for achieving excellent results. The first edition of this book received the jury special prize at the Astronomy Festival of Haute-Maurienne in France. Now in its second edition, Astrophotography provides the most thorough treatment of the topic available. This richly illustrated book is intended for all sky enthusiasts—newcomers and veterans alike.

Learn how to:

• Select the most useful equipment: cameras, adapters, filters, focal reducers/extenders, field correctors, and guide telescopes
• Set up your camera (digital, video, or CCD) and your lens or telescope for optimal results
• Plan your observing sessions
• Mount the camera on your telescope and focus it for razor-sharp images
• Polar-align your equatorial mount and improve tracking for pin-point star images
• Make celestial time-lapse videos
• Calculate the shooting parameters: focal length and ratio, field of view, exposure time, etc.
• Combine multiple exposures to reveal faint galaxies, nebulae details, elusive planetary structures, and tiny lunar craters
• Adjust contrast, brightness, light curves, and colours
• Postprocess your images to fix defects such as vignetting, dust shadows, hot pixels, uneven background, and noise
• Identify problems with your images and improve your results