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A Primer on Astrophotography

by William McLaughlin; General Imaging Information

• Basics of CCD Imaging: This short page is designed to give some simple background on the technology used to take these images. It is intended for the non-technical viewer.
• Advice for Beginners: Looking to take up astronomical imaging as a hobby? This page has a few basic "dos and do nots" for the brave souls that wish to venture into this hobby.
• A Guide to Astrophotography: A page with tons of resources relating to astrophotography. Definitely worth perusing. (Thanks, Katey).
• Equipment and Processing: Brief discussion of the hardware and software that Bill uses to produce these images plus links to the manufacturers of these products.

Tutorials

• LRGB Technique: This older tutorial provides a step-by-step tutorial on using PhotoShop to perform the LRGB color image techniqu
• Focus Techniques: Also a bit dated (from a 1999 lecture) but this gives a good background for understanding focus.
• Tpoint and Image Link: The instructions for using Tpoint with Image Link in TheSky are not so hot so here are some instructions written for humans! (For TheSky V5.X)
• ImageReady Tutorials: From my 2004 talk at the AIC conference. These extensive tutorials detail how to use ImageReady to do Rollovers, Image Maps, and More!

Voyages

• Iceland and Aurora: A voyage to Iceland to view aurora
• Voyage to Antarctica: Voyage to the Ross Sea by Icebreaker

Other Informational Pages

Clouds and Atmospheric Phenomena Photos: Pictures of clouds, atmospheric phenomena, aurora and some time lapse movies.

Image Comparison Pages: These pages are devoted to images of specific objects as imaged by myself and other imagers.

CCD Imaging Links: A page chock full of links to other imagers, informational sites, and places where products may be purchased.

Weather Information: Weather Page

Use of my Images: If you want to use any of my images, you should read this page first.