A Beginner's Guide to Back | Up | Next
DSLR Astrophotography
Detailed Table of Contents Searchable Index


Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Introduction


Chapter 1 - Astronomy Basics

  1. Astronomy and Astrophotography
  2. Light
  3. The Sun and Stars
  4. Distances in Space
  5. Our Place in the Universe
  6. How the Night Sky Moves
  7. Altazimuth vs. Equatorial
  8. Celestial Coordinates
  9. Constellations
  10. Finding Your Way Around the Night Sky

Chapter 2 - Telescopes and Mounts
  1. Kinds of Telescopes
  2. Aperture, Focal Length, Focal Ratio
  3. Visual Telescopes for Beginner's
  4. Telescopes for Astrophotography
  5. Altazimuth Mounts for Astrophotography
  6. Equatorial Mounts for Astrophotography
  7. Constructing a Barn-Door Tracker
  8. Dealing with Dew
  9. Power and Batteries
  10. Tracking

Chapter 3 - DSLR Cameras for Astrophotography
  1. Picking a Camera
  2. How Digital Cameras Work
  3. Sensors and Pixels
  4. Camera Features
  5. Zones and Modes
  6. File Formats
  7. ISO Speed and Sensitivity
  8. Thermal Signal
  9. In-Camera Noise Reduction
  10. Remote Releases

Chapter 4 - Camera Lenses for Astrophotography
  1. Camera Lenses
  2. Aperture
  3. Focal Length
  4. Focal Ratio
  5. Lenses vs. Telescopes
  6. Recommended Canon Lenses
  7. Recommended Nikon Lenses
  8. Focusing Camera Lenses
  9. Filters for Camera Lenses
  10. Suggested Beginner Lens Set


Chapter 5 - Taking Pictures

  1. A Basic Setup for Astrophotography
  2. Planning
  3. Scope Setup
  4. Polar Alignment
  5. Focusing
  6. Finding Your Target
  7. Camera Settings for Astrophotography
  8. Determining the Correct Exposure
  9. White Balance, Color and Contrast
  10. 10 Tips for Great Pictures


Chapter 6 - Shooting Setups

  1. Fixed Tripod
  2. Star Trails
  3. Using a Barn-Door Tracker
  4. Piggyback
  5. Prime Focus
  6. Lunar and Solar Photography
  7. Afocal
  8. Eyepiece Projection
  9. Optical Accessories
  10. Filtered Shots


Chapter 7 - Image Processing

  1. Monitor Calibration, Color Management
  2. Software for Image Processing
  3. Image Evaluation
  4. Crop and Rotate
  5. Color Correction
  6. Contrast Enhancement
  7. Reducing Noise, Spotting
  8. Resizing and Resampling
  9. Sharpening
  10. File Formats, Archiving


Chapter 8 - Advanced Techniques

  1. Signals and Noise
  2. Stacking Light Frames
  3. Image Calibration
  4. Image Correction and Enhancement
  5. Live View "webcam" mode
  6. Guiding and Autoguiding
  7. Automation and Computer Control
  8. Time Lapse Movies from Stills
  9. Modified Cameras
  10. Narrowband Filters


Chapter 9 - Things That Go Wrong

  1. Focus
  2. Trailing
  3. Inadequate Exposure
  4. Noise
  5. Light Pollution
  6. Vignetting and Gradients
  7. Optical Aberrations
  8. Improper Calibration
  9. Incorrect Processing
  10. Unexplained Mysteries


Chapter 10 - Wonders in the Sky

  1. The Moon in the Mullica
  2. Orion, Hyades, Pleiades
  3. Star Trails
  4. Evening Twilight
  5. Iridium Satellite Flares
  6. Scopes and Stars
  7. Full Moon
  8. Crescent Moon and Earthshine
  9. Venus in the Daytime
  10. Big and Little Dippers
  11. The Summer Triangle
  12. Summer Milky Way
  13. The Trapezium in M42
  14. M45, The Pleiades
  15. Comet Lulin
  16. Open Cluster M46
  17. M57, The Ring Nebula
  18. M27, The Swan Nebula
  19. The Double Cluster
  20. M104, The Sombrero Galaxy
  21. Nebulas in Cygnus
  22. Galaxy M33
  23. M27, The Dumbbell Nebula
  24. M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy
  25. Reflection Nebula
  26. Globular Cluster M13
  27. M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy
  28. M42, The Great Nebula in Orion
  29. M31, The Andromeda Galaxy
  30. Dark Nebula Le Gentil 3
  31. Galaxies M81 and M82
  32. The Veil Nebula
  33. Markarian's Chain
  34. North America Nebula
  35. The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas

References and Resources

Glossary

Searchable Index

About the Author



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