The Art of Astrophotography

Description

In The Art of Astrophotography, astronomer and Popular Astronomy columnist Ian Morison provides the essential foundations of how to produce beautiful astronomical images. Every type of astroimaging is covered, from images of the Moon and planets, to the constellations, star clusters and nebulae within our Milky Way Galaxy and the faint light of distant galaxies. He achieves this through a series of worked examples and short project walk-throughs, detailing the equipment needed - starting with just a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera and tripod, and increasing in complexity as the book progresses - followed by the way to best capture the images and then how, step by step, these may be processed and enhanced to provide results that can rival those seen in astronomical magazines and books. Whether you are just getting into astrophotography or are already deeply involved, Morison's advice will help you capture and create enticing astronomical images.

Ian Morison is Emeritus Gresham Professor of Astronomy at the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory. In addition to his academic credentials, he is a lifelong amateur astronomer, a founding member and patron of Macclesfield Astronomy Society and a past president of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy, one of the country's largest amateur astronomy organisations. He has written four previous popular astronomy books, as well as an undergraduate astronomy textbook.

'The significant developments in the optics of both telescopes and cameras, coupled with powerful imaging programs now commercially available, mean that amateur astronomers can make remarkable images of astronomical objects ... [The book] provides an excellent guide to the techniques involved. The emphasis in the text is on the various imaging processes one might use, but there are sufficient details about the instrumentation ... a beginner will be comfortable in selecting a telescope, or a camera, to suit the goals. Instructions are given in detail, with procedures outlined in step-by-step explanations that even include specific mention of control buttons on a laptop screen. Typically, each chapter focuses on the photography of one type of object (e.g., the moon, nebulae in the Milky Way, or neighboring galaxies) because each object requires a slightly different technique. The illustrations are effectively coordinated with the text, and the final illustration in each chapter is usually extraordinary.' D. E. Hogg, CHOICE